A Stranger Named Yami
by IncurablyAwesome
Summary: Ryou Bakura was anyone's idea of normal - until a stranger named Yami moves in with him. He soon discovers that there is more to Yami than meets the eye.  Fragileshipping/Puzzleshipping, yaoi, AU. Final chapter is up ;D
1. Chapter 1

Warning: There will be a fair amount of OOCness, particularly in this chapter :) I know it says Puzzleshipping in the description, but that will come later :) otherwise, the only other warning is yaoi, which you probably already guessed :) I'm not a solely yaoi girl; I like any story as long as its good. I just thought this story fit this pairing.

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><p>Ryou Bakura wasn't anyone special. In fact, the most defining feature of his character was that he was the image of completely normal; he had a relatively well-paid job, he was renting an apartment, he visited friends, and he had his hobbies. There was a pattern to his life, which he had been adhering to since he graduated Uni.<p>

He was on his way down to the local newspaper office. He needed to advertise in the paper for a roommate.

This unsettled Ryou; he liked the life he lived, where he could be alone when he wanted, and in the company of others when he went out. The idea of sharing his apartment with a stranger was unappealing, and would limit his freedom.

He uttered a sigh. It was necessary, though; his current wage was in no way sparing, and it paid the rent, but if he was going to pay off his Uni debt any time soon, he needed more money to spare.

There was a tinkling bell that rang as he opened the door. Ryou smiled to himself; there should be more tinkling doors.

"Can I help you?"

Ryou jerked his attention back to the lady behind the desk and, smiling, made his way over. "Yes; I was wondering if I could put an ad in the paper. I need a roommate for my apartment. My rent's getting too-"

The woman's eyes suddenly sharpened. "Where is your apartment?"

Ryou frowned. "Oh- ah...not too far from here; about a ten minute walk. It-"

"What's it like?"

Ryou felt a little intimidated by the way she was grilling him, but continued. "It's a nice place; quite big. Two bedrooms, one bathroom, one study, a kitchen, a living room...and the rent's not too bad when split two-ways."

The woman suddenly grinned, a look of immense relief on her face. "I believe you may be in luck, sir; we had someone in here just an hour or two ago, looking at finding an apartment in this area."

Ryou blinked. He hadn't expected to find somebody this soon. "Oh, well that's...great."

"I can give you his contact details if you like; he left them with us." Without waiting for an answer, she produced a scrap of paper and handed it to Ryou. "You can keep it, if you like; it's all in the computer."

Ryou nodded his thanks, but his eyes had strayed to the paper. It held a single mobile phone number, and the word '_Yami_'.

"That's it?" he asked. "Just 'Yami'?"

The woman nodded. "I'm afraid so; that's the only name he gave."

Ryou hesitated. "Well...thanks. I guess I'll call this guy, and if it doesn't work out, I'll get back to you."

The lady smiled. "Glad I could help."

* * *

><p>Ryou tried the number on the way home. He was amazed to have a potential candidate so soon; he had expected it to be at least a week.<p>

"_Hello_?"

Ryou jumped slightly. He had picked up after one ring.

"Um...hi. Is this 'Yami'? I got this number from the newspaper firm."

There was a pause. "_Yes, it is. Thank you for calling._"

"I think I may have an apartment that suits you; my name is Ryou, by the way; Ryou Bakura."

"_It's nice to meet you, Ryou; I guess you already know my name is Yami._"

"I may need a little more to go on than-"

"_It's just 'Yami'. Like Cher._"

Ryou paused. People actually did that? "Oh, I guess that's okay then...but about this apartment; I need someone to share it with. Preferably a non-smoker, and who doesn't make too much noise."

"_That's perfect; I'll be doing most of my work by computer, but otherwise I'll be outdoors._"

"What kind of work do you do?" Ryou asked.

"_Basically anything that needs doing. So when can I come and see this place?"_

Ryou considered that. "Any time today or tomorrow; I'm not working this weekend."

"_That's just great; how about in half an hour?_"

Ryou jumped. So soon? "Um...sure, why not?"

"_Great; we'll talk over this more in person. What's the address?_"

Ryou gave it to him, and after a few brief farewells, the mysterious 'Yami', hung up.

Ryou flipped his phone shut. What had he just gotten into?

* * *

><p>Ryou's apartment was always immaculate; there was no last minute tidying to do before hid guest arrived. He wondered what he should be doing to prepare; after all, he had only met Yami on the phone for a few minutes.<p>

He settled with simply waiting. He had just poured himself a glass of milk and added one of his strawberry milk-flavouring straws when there was a knock at the door.

Ryou hesitated before opening the door, wondering what to expect.

Pushing his worries aside, he pulled the door open.

'Yami' was everything that wasn't inconspicuous. He had wild spiky hair that fanned out on all directions atop his head like a gelled lion's mane. It was black, in fringed with purple. Blonde streaks lined each spike, and several blonde bangs framed his face, staring out of which was a pair of hard crimson eyes, staring straight at Ryou.

He was wearing a sleeveless black top and leather pants, with a long-sleeved blue shirt draped over his back like a cape. Ryou didn't need expertise to know that he was very fit, not to mention drop-dead gorgeous.

Ryou felt very inadequate, with his fluffy white hair and gentle brown eyes. For a moment, he could do nothing more than stare at Yami.

Ryou knew right then and there that he definitely wanted Yami moving in.

"Ryou Bakura, right?"

Several seconds had passed before Ryou actually registered that Yami was talking to him. "Oh – yes, I'm Ryou. It's...nice to meet you. You must be Yami."

Yami smiled winningly and invited himself inside. "It's quite a nice place here."

Ryou nodded hesitantly. "Mm-hmm. The spare room is down the end there." He pointed. "There's also a study if you need it; I just use it to store books and stuff. Um...why don't you sit down?" After pulling out one of the chairs, Ryou ran and retrieved his milk from the kitchen counter, suddenly feeling very childish to be drinking milk. Through a flavouring straw. He had never seen the problem of it until now.

Yami had sat at the table, but was looking around the room with hawk-like alertness. His head snapped around when Ryou entered again.

"You'd have to forgive me for being a bit antisocial; this place would basically be my 'base camp'...I have something important in the area I need to take care of."

"Like what?" Ryou asked, sipping at his straw and sitting across from Yami.

Yami froze. "Just...stuff." He suddenly laughed. A little too suddenly. "So I'll be out most of the time, or just shut up by myself. Don't take it personally. And you won't need to worry about me making a mess, or lots of noise, or anything like that. You'll hardly even notice I'm here."

Ryou was nodding. He didn't have a problem with that.

"So is there anything else I need to know?"

Ryou drank his milk thoughtfully. "The guy in the floor above us had a party every Saturday night. It's pretty noisy."

Yami grimaced. "Don't worry; I can take care of that. Anything else? What's that you're drinking?" he asked suddenly, noticing Ryou's straw.

Ryou frowned. "Oh, this?" He lifted out the straw to show him. "You put it in normal milk, and it flavours the milk on the way up." He paused. "It's pretty silly."

"Do you have any of the chocolate ones?"

"The chocolate ones? Yeah, I don't like those; they've been piling up for a while...they come in packets of five per flavour."

"Wow, that's weird; they're the only ones I like." Yami's face suddenly saddened. "I had...a friend. We always fought over those ones."

Ryou peered at him over the top of his glass, unsure of what to say. Had Yami's friend died? Should he ask? Was it something he wanted to talk about?

He tried to sound as though he hadn't picked up on it. "Wow...I don't think I've ever met anyone else who uses them. You can help yourself to as many as you want; you can even give some to your friend."

"We...haven't spoken in a while."

"Oh, I see." Ryou silenced himself, still as confused as ever. "I...I'm sorry." He bit his lip, hoping he hadn't upset Yami.

The heavy aura surrounding Yami suddenly lifted. "Don't worry; he's not dead or anything like that." He changed the subject. "So; parties on Saturdays, use of the study and chocolate straws. Anything else I should know?"

Ryou finished his milk and stood to take it back to the kitchen. "Rent's due every second Thursday."

"Then it's settled; I'll go get my things. See you tomorrow, Ryou!"

And before Ryou could say another word, he was up and out the door.

Ryou stared at the door handle for a moment, feeling somewhat in a daze. "What on Earth just happened?"


	2. Chapter 2

AnzuFan :) Your review was anonymous so I couldn't respond :( Don't worry; you'll get your wish ;D~!

~IA

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><p>Yami showed up at six o'clock on the following day. Ryou, who had been taking advantage of the Sunday to sleep in, was suddenly awakened by a loud thump at his front door.<p>

Ryou groaned, instantly having second thoughts about his new roommate. "I thought you said you'd be quiet," he mumbled, throwing back his blankets.

He suddenly became aware of the fact that he was wearing a pair of purple and polka dot pyjamas. It hadn't mattered whilst living alone.

Frantically, he fumbled with his draws until he found a pair of jeans and his favourite blue and white striped shirt. There was another knock.

"Hang on, I'm coming!" he shouted, irritated, pulling off his shirt. "Just give me a minute."

He had just finished zipping up his pants when Yami called out. "Are you okay in there?"

Ryou stormed over to the door and yanked it open. "What the hell, Yami?" he demanded. "It's six o'clock in the morning."

Yami frowned. "I always get up at half past five."

"On Sundays?" Ryou whined. He wasn't really angry; just upset at having had his sleep in ruined. "You know what? Never mind. Just…yeah, never mind. Um…make yourself at home."

Yami entered the room. Ryou couldn't help but notice that the only thing he was carrying was a backpack and a laptop bag. "Is that all your stuff?"

Yami nodded. "Yep; it's all I need."

Ryou frowned. "Hm. Okay, then. I guess this'll be easier than I thought. So…you can go put your stuff away and get settled. I'm going to finish waking myself up."

Leaving Yami in the lounge room, he made his way into the bathroom. He almost died when he looked in the mirror. The front of his hair fanned out around him in a thick bush of white spikes, whereas the back was lying totally flat. His fringe has set itself hanging rattily down in front of his eye. Ryou pushed it aside, wondering how he had even been able to see.

And he had greeted Yami looking like that.

Ryou grimaced, grabbing his hairbrush.

Once he had managed to get it back to its usual fluffy bounce, he left the bathroom to get his shoes.

He took a detour on the way to his own room to investigate Yami's. It was still empty of furniture; Yami's backpack looked ridiculously insignificant, alone in the middle of it. Ryou went to the next door and stuck his head into the study. Yami had set his laptop bag on top of the desk, and he was now looking through the books on the shelves. Most of them were novels.

Yami looked up when he came in. "There's hardly anything worth reading here," he commented.

Ryou bristled. "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you!" he exclaimed. "I wasn't aware that it was my job to provide you with-"

Yami grinned. "Calm down; I was joking. Matthew Reilly is a great author. You have good taste. Lots of blood and gore."

Ryou put his hands on his hips. "That's not funny, Yami." He paused. "But, um, I'm glad you like him too."

Yami reached forward and ruffled his hair. "You're cute when you're angry."

Ryou felt his face flush. Not wanting to be a pushover, however, he kept up. "In that case, maybe I should just be angry more often!"

Yami smirked. "Go ahead."

Ryou had no comeback for this. Eventually, he just changed the subject. "Um...I'm sorry; I hadn't expected you to have so little stuff. There's no bed in your room."

Yami shrugged. "It's fine; I'll just sleep on the couch."

"What? No way; I'd feel horrible otherwise."

Yami frowned. "Why? You're the one who bought a bed. I could never be bothered to."

"But..."

"Ryou, listen; I hate sleeping in beds. They're too big. I would rather sleep on the couch anyway."

Ryou bit his lip. "Well, at least let me lend you some spare bedding. I've got a blanket and pillow handy." He suddenly hesitated, wishing he hadn't spoken.

"What's the matter?"

"There's...only one problem."

* * *

><p>"Ryou; don't worry. I love Star Wars."<p>

"But I've had this since I was about eight years old! You can't use Star Wars blankets; it's too...weird. Not to mention Darth Vader's head glows in the dark. It terrified me; why do you think I don't use it anymore?"

"Wait, you mean you'd be using this if it didn't?"

Ryou was holding his prized Star Wars blanket and pillow case. "I didn't say that!" he muttered.

Yami sighed. "Ryou, please. If I get too scared of Darth Vader, I'll turn the pillow case inside out. You don't need to worry on my behalf." He grinned, and Ryou knew he was teasing.

Ryou looked downcast as he reluctantly handed over the bedding. He refused to admit it, but part of the problem – aside from the fact that simply offering it to Yami could be taken as a great insult – was that he was still somewhat attached to it.

"Thanks, Ryou."

"I'm going to buy you something else tomorrow."

"No you're not. You're not putting yourself out because of me."

"But, Yami! Star Wars? What if your friends see it?"

Yami's face suddenly darkened. "I don't have any friends."

"Oh." Ryou didn't know how to respond. "Well...what about that friend who liked the chocolate straws?"

Yami looked away. "I told you; we haven't spoken in a while."

"But you're still friends?"

He sighed, and nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. It's more complicated than that."

Ryou wanted to ask more, but he got the feeling that Yami didn't want to answer.

"Well...what about me? I'm your friend, aren't I?"

Yami looked at him, an expression of mingled gratitude, sorrow, and – Ryou could have sworn – guilt. "Yes, of course you are. We're flat mates now. But that's different; it's your blanket."

Ryou suddenly remembered how they had gotten onto such a topic. "Oh, yeah." He paused. "Well, if you're sure..."

"I am. Star Wars is cool," Yami assured him.

Ryou wasn't an expert on second-guessing, but he knew a white lie when he saw one.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much else he could do. "Okay..." He sighed. "I'm sorry; I hadn't really thought of how childish some of the things I do are until now."

Yami grinned and tucked the bundle of bedding under one arm. "You remind me of a saying, Ryou; we never grow up, we just learn how to act in public."

Ryou blinked. "I...kind of like that."

* * *

><p>While Yami went to put the bedding on the couch, Ryou finished putting his shoes on. He sat down on the foot of his bed, already needing a break.<p>

He was amazed at how much Yami was putting up with; Star Wars bedding, flavouring straws. That wasn't even including the dinosaur shaped spoon, the polka-dot pyjamas, or Ryou's Snuggie collection, which Yami had yet to discover. Was it that secretly, everyone did all that? Or was Yami just very tolerant?

He had already started to like Yami. He couldn't quite place what it was about him that Ryou was drawn to, but he did.

He was strange, though; what kind of person moved into a new home with nothing but a relatively small bag, and a computer? Why did he keep looking sad whenever his friend was brought up?

Ryou could understand that; if they had been close, and were now not speaking, they must have quarrelled. That would make him sad.

His thoughts returned to the look on Yami's face when Ryou had asked if they were friends. What reason would Yami have to feel guilty?

Pushing it aside, Ryou went out into the lounge again. Yami had been living with him for barely half an hour, but it already felt like he had been there for years.

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><p>Matthew Reilly FTW XD And Snuggies. And Star Wars. And milk flavouring straws. And dinosaur shaped spoons. And polka-dot pyjamas. XD I would have put Yu-Gi-Oh cards in too, but...<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Living with Yami proved to be a lot easier than Ryou had feared. When it came right down to it, the two of them rarely even spoke; Yami predominantly spent his time at home tapping away at his computer while seated at the couch, having decided that the study was not for him. But Yami was still rarely there; he spent most of his time away from the apartment altogether. Sometimes he would be out so late that Ryou was asleep by the time he returned, or left so early that Ryou didn't see him leave. Often, nights would pass where Ryou thought he hadn't been home at all, only to find some mark of his presence; an item out of place, or something missing from the fridge.

Ryou couldn't imagine what he could be doing that demanded so much of his time. He had said that he simply did 'anything that needed doing', but what exactly did that mean?

Ryou usually left at seven-thirty and got home around four, but Yami had no general hours. Sometimes days would go by when the two of them didn't even see each other.

It had been almost a week since Yami moved in when they had their next proper conversation, and the fact that they were able to have it was because Ryou was home all Saturday, allowing his presence in the apartment to coincide with Yami's.

"So, what are you doing out there all day?"

It was ten o'clock in the morning. Yami had showed up half an hour beforehand, and was seated cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by various papers, his computer right in the middle.

Yami looked up. "Just…stuff."

Ryou paused, and tried to start up a conversation again. "What's all that stuff there?" he asked curiously.

Yami looked at the papers on the floor. "Blueprints, lists, records, that sort of thing."

Ryou sat down at the table, still watching Yami. "What's it all for?"

Yami looked as though he had to seriously consider his answer. "Finding someone."

"Are you one of those 'people finders', then?"

"Not really; I told you…I guess you'd call me a generalist; I do lots of different things for lots of different people."

"But, at the moment, you're finding someone?"

Yami nodded. "I am."

Ryou nodded. The conversation lulled into silence. "Who?"

"Hm?"

"Who are you looking for? Maybe I can help."

Yami smiled sadly. "Thanks, Ryou. But I don't think you can."

Ryou was confused. "Well, you're not doing too well on your own. You've been staying out at least sixteen hours a day for nearly a week and you haven't found whoever it is yet," he pointed out.

Yami set his jaw. "I'll find him. I always do."

Ryou wanted to say more, but he held himself back; after all, he didn't know the full story. He might say something that could offend Yami.

"Um..." Ryou stood up. "Hey, Yami? I...was wondering. Do you get out much? I mean, just for recreation, not looking for this person."

Yami smiled to himself. "Not so much anymore."

"Oh...because a bunch of my friends are going to play soccer tomorrow, and I was wondering if you wanted to come along."

Yami looked at Ryou. "Thanks, Ryou. That's a nice thought, I just don't think I can afford to. And I don't know any of your friends."

Ryou shrugged. "They don't care; they want more people. That's how I became friends with most of them in the first place."

"Really...thanks for the offer, but I can't."

Ryou sighed. "Okay, I just thought I'd better ask. I would have let you know sooner, but we've hardly even spoken since you moved in. Anyway, if you change your mind, just show up and give us a shout."

Yami looked surprised, but grateful. "I'll definitely do that if I get the chance to."

* * *

><p>Ryou wasn't particularly great at soccer, but he wasn't bad either.<p>

He showed up at the local soccer field about five minutes late. Yami had taken off again early that morning, and Ryou was somewhat disappointed – although, he had to admit, not surprised – that he wasn't there.

They divided into two teams and started without much ado. At first, Ryou's team took the lead, and then the others, then Ryou's again. It was quite a close match.

Ryou was having fun; he loved soccer. He even managed to score a goal within the first ten minutes of the game. His morale boosted, he found himself playing better than usual.

Suddenly, he noticed the ball go spinning past him on a course for out. Almost without thinking, he made a kick for it.

His foot gave way on the grass just as his other hurtled towards the ball, causing him to spin and topple sideways while he kicked. He barely even noticed the ball go spinning towards the goals as he hit the ground with a resounding thump.

The way he landed caused his elbow to dig into his side painfully, and his head smack down sickeningly. For a second, he lay there, winded, before everyone else crowded around him, asking if he was okay.

Ryou forced himself to sit up, wincing at the sharp pain in his side. "...Did it score?" he asked, looking up at the rest of the players.

They all burst out laughing. "Yeah, don't worry; you scored. Just don't kill yourself in the process."

Ryou took the hand offered to him and heaved himself up. "I'm okay." Experimentally, he touched the spot where his elbow had hit, and winced again. That was going to bruise something shocking.

"Hey, what happened here?"

For a second, Ryou didn't register the voice. But then a second later, it matched itself to a face in Ryou's head, and he spun around automatically, causing another painful cringe. "Yami! I thought you weren't coming!"

Yami had stopped a few feet away from the crowd, but when he saw Ryou at the centre of it, he pushed his way through. "Ryou, what the hell did you do?"

"It's nothing," Ryou insisted. "I fell on my elbow, that's all. But I got another goal in, which was good. Um, everyone, this is my room mate, Yami; he moved in a week ago."

Yami looked uncomfortable at suddenly being the centre of attention. Ryou suddenly realised that he had only ever seen Yami dressed one way, with his leather pants and sleeveless top. Seeing him in shorts and a t-shirt seemed almost comical, as it made his wild spiky hair look disproportionally bigger. After shaking a few hands and uttering a few greetings, Yami looked at Ryou again. "You don't look very comfortable. Are you sure you didn't hurt yourself?"

Ryou nodded. "Course I am; it was only grass I fell on. See," he finished, demonstrating by stretching in a few different directions. Involuntarily, he winced when the pain in his side returned.

Yami rolled his eyes. "Nice try. Here, let me see."

A week ago, Ryou would have been swamped with self-consciousness when Yami carefully rolled up part of his shirt while surrounded by the rest of his friends. But now, he didn't even think about the pain. All he could think about was Yami's hand, gently running over the tender spot. That hand...

"S- see? It's nothing; just a little bruising, that's all."

"Ryou, I think your rib is broken," Yami said matter-of-factly.

"And since when did you do first aid?" Ryou demanded, upset as having been contradicted.

"I don't, I just have experience with broken ribs."

Ryou frowned. "You can't tell that just from looking at it. You need an x-ray-"

"I can feel a fracture. Here, you feel it." Without waiting for an answer, Yami took his hand and gently guided his fingers to the fracture. Ryou wasn't even paying attention – Yami was holding his hand! He stared at Yami's face, grateful that he was paying attention to Ryou's rib and didn't catch him looking.

"Right here, see?"

Ryou jumped, pulling himself back into reality. "Oh...yeah. It's just little, though. I can still finish the game."

"You are doing no such thing."

"Who are you, my mother?" Ryou huffed.

"I'll have to be, if you don't have enough common sense of your own."

Ryou's face fell. "But I was having so much fun," he whined, hoping Yami would pity him. "We were winning!"

"Ryou, you just fractured a rib in order to score a goal. I think you've done enough for your team mates for one day."

Ryou looked away, knowing that Yami was right. He sighed. "Okay...fine. I'll just watch."

Yami nodded, satisfied.

Ryou suddenly became aware of his friends stares, at the same time he realised he still had his hand against his exposed side, with Yami's on top of it. The self-consciousness finally setting in, he pulled his hand away, as did Yami. He didn't dare meet any of their eyes. "Um...I'm sorry...you guys keep playing; don't worry about me. I'm really sorry," he mumbled, wishing he had a knife so he could try cutting the thickness of the atmosphere surrounding himself and his roommate.

* * *

><p>While the rest of them returned to their game, Yami took Ryou to the soccer field's main building to get his wound checked. It didn't look very bad; it had only just started to hint at turning yellow, but it was becoming sorer by the minute.<p>

After leaving Ryou alone on one of the benches, Yami returned with a bandage and tape. "This is just to hold it in place until we can see someone more professional than me," he explained, casually lifting Ryou's shirt off. Ryou's eyes boggled, realising that he was alone with Yami, and shirtless. He tried to push the thought away; Yami was bandaging a broken rib. That was all.

As Yami wrapped the bandage around Ryou, Ryou himself hesitated before saying quietly, "You came. I didn't think you would."

Yami smiled, not taking his eyes off his work. "Just be glad I did; otherwise you would have kept playing and this could have been a lot worse."

"Thank you, Yami," he whispered.

"No problem." He finished wrapping and picked up the bandage tape. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you in front of your friends."

"Oh – you don't need to be," Ryou said hastily. "You were right. Don't be sorry for being right."

"You...act differently around them."

"...I do?"

Yami nodded. "You're tenser, like you have to concentrate on what's going on in order to understand and act right. At home, you're more laid back."

"That was just because I'd just broken my rib," Ryou mumbled.

Yami stuck the tape to the bandage around Ryou's torso. "That's probably true; you're tense right now, too."

"Oh...that's probably why."

Yami handed Ryou back his shirt, which he hastily pulled on. "Um...thanks...for fixing me up."

"Don't count on it holding; see a specialist as soon as possible," he advised.

"I will. Thank you, Yami."

Yami smiled and helped him to his feet. "You're welcome, Ryou."

Ryou hesitated, before finally asking, "Where did you get experience with broken ribs?"

Yami suddenly froze. "...That friend I told you about. He broke a rib once."

"Were you very close to your friend?"

He nodded sadly. "I still am...somehow."

"You must miss him a lot."

Yami looked away, and if Ryou hadn't known better, he could have sworn he saw a tear try to form. "Yes...I miss him a lot."


	4. Chapter 4

"I can't believe this!"

Ryou literally jumped when Yami burst through the front door, clearly furious. Not because he was furious, though; because it was half past four and Yami was already back.

"What is it?" Ryou ran over to the sink and quickly rinsed his hands, grateful for an excuse to get away from the onions he was chopping.

"Somebody trashed my car!"

Ryou paused. "You...have a car?"

Yami stopped his fuming for a second to look at Ryou strangely. "Yeah, why?"

"Oh...I just never use the garage downstairs, that's all. I don't have one. I didn't realise."

Yami's hesitation was short lived. "But anyway! I leave it for twenty minutes and when I come back, everything under the bonnet is completely mangled. I could barely get it back here."

"You still tried to drive it?" Ryou asked, his voice growing high-pitched with concern. "You could have been killed!"

Yami shrugged, not paying attention to much. Ryou had never seen him angry before. "I'm sure it's still fixable; you can take it to the mechanic, or I could-"

"But that'll take at least a couple of days! I need it now. It's not even my car!"

Ryou looked quizzical. "Then whose is it?"

"What? It doesn't matter; I didn't steal it, if that's what you're thinking."

Ryou squirmed, uncomfortable. He didn't like this angry side of Yami. He knew Yami wasn't upset about the car itself; he wasn't that kind of person. He was worried, because without a car he wouldn't be able to search for the person he was looking for.

But nonetheless, Ryou didn't want to be around Yami when he was like this. He had to get out of the apartment.

His lips curled into a smile. And he knew just what to do.

"Um...Yami, I know this is a bad time, but I have to be somewhere...soon."

Yami looked almost crestfallen as Ryou scraped the chopped onions into a plastic container and put them in the fridge. "What? Why? And where?"

"No time to explain!" Ryou ran into his room and grabbed an unusually large, heavy bag. "It's important, though! I'll explain later!"

He made his escape, leaving Yami staring after him, speechless.

Outside in the elevator, Ryou shifted the bag's position to make it easier to carry. He pressed the lift button several times as though that could make it go faster. He wanted to be finished in time to go to bed.

Ryou hadn't even been aware that Yami was using their single car garage under the building; as he had said, he didn't own a car himself. Instead, he settled with playing with other people's.

Yami's car was a mess. Aside from a dent in the bonnet, it looked fine from the outside. But when Ryou lifted the bonnet and peered at the engine, it was almost enough to make him cry. Who could have done something like this?

Upon further examination, however, it wasn't as bad as Yami had caused him to fear. Despite the unappealing look of the engine, the damage itself was actually minimal; several pipes were bent out of place or ripped, and the battery was leaking. Even so, it was a miracle Yami had been able to drive it back at all.

Ryou pulled a large green piece of cloth from his bag and folded it into a triangle. It was time for work.

* * *

><p>It was well into the night when Yami finally came down, presumably to take one last look.<p>

He obviously hadn't expected to see Ryou there, tinkering with his car, because at first, he let out a surprised shout as though he expected the original vandal to have returned.

Ryou was standing on his tip-toes, a spanner in his hand, tightening a bolt at the back of the engine, when he heard Yami's cry of alarm. Instantly, he jumped away from the vehicle. "It's only me!"

Yami stared at him. For the first time, he looked utterly dumbfounded.

"Ryou...what are you doing?"

Ryou pushed the bonnet shut. "Just finishing up," he announced proudly. "I had to take a few trips to the mechanic to buy the spare parts, but it was just a new battery and some pipes. It didn't take too long to put in. I've even tightened all your bolts and stuff."

"No, Ryou, I mean, what are you _doing_."

Ryou blinked, his eyes wide and confused. "Fixing your car. You'll have to see a professional to get the dent straightened out, but it should be able to run now-"

"But, why?" Yami was frowning.

"Because you said you needed it soon! I thought you'd be happy!" he exclaimed, his face falling. Yami didn't like it? But he had been working for hours!

Ryou suddenly became aware of how he must have looked. His face was smeared with engine grease, not to mention the rest of his body and clothes. The top of his head was wrapped in a green bandana to keep his hair out of his eyes, with the rest of it poking out the bottom ridiculously. The exposed hair was also covered in grease, looking a sickly grey as opposed to its usual fluffy white. He started fiddling with the spanner, feeling a tear well in his eye. He had just wanted to help. And now Yami was mad at him.

"I didn't know you fixed cars, Ryou."

Ryou jumped at this, suddenly looking childishly excited. "Oh – I didn't tell you? I love cars; I've been fiddling with them since I was a kid. I just don't have one of my own."

Yami suddenly came over and looked into the engine. Not only had the ripped pipes and battery been replaced, but Ryou had practically given it a full service in the six hours since he had left the apartment. Aside from some minor dents and scratches, it looked as good as new. "Wow...that's amazing."

Ryou glowed under his praise. "Then you like it?" he asked excitedly.

Yami looked at him. "Ryou, of course I _like_ it, but you shouldn't have done it! I didn't even know you were down here."

"I wanted to surprise you," Ryou said, turning the spanner over in his hand self-consciously. He looked at it with fascination, trying to avoid looking at Yami.

"But you could have hurt yourself, Ryou," Yami pointed out. "Your rib is still broken. You only broke it four days ago. You could have widened the fracture."

Ryou frowned and lifted up the side of his shirt. The bandages concealed any evidence if further damage to the rib. "I was careful; I didn't put any pressure on it, or anything like that! Just like you told me too," Ryou insisted.

Yami looked genuinely worried. "Ryou...I'm sorry to be so...unenthusiastic, but you just shouldn't have done this! I could have taken it to a mechanic."

"But mechanics are overpriced," Ryou said stubbornly. "You can't always trust their quotes. This was just a service for a friend."

Ryou searched his features, hoping for some sign of happiness there. He could certainly see gratitude, underlined by Yami's usual faint aura of sorrow. But happy?

Ryou almost cried. So Yami didn't like it. He would have rather seen a mechanic. Frustrated, he pulled the bandana off his head.

Yami suddenly burst into laughter. "Look at your hair!"

Ryou frowned and ran around to the wing mirror. The hair beneath the level of the bandana was a mixture of black and grey, and stuck together in clumps. The hair above it was totally flat, pushed down from hours under a piece of cloth, and perfectly white, with a few straw pieces of green thread, forming a neat line at the interface.

He started laughing too. It looked absolutely comical.

And then, unexpectedly, Yami hugged him.

It came completely by surprise. It was only one armed and in no way hard, but it knocked the breath right out of him. His heart started pounding so hard that he was certain it was resonating off the walls of the small garage. _Yami..._

And then, just like that, it was over, and Yami was stepping away. Ryou stared at his face almost moonily. It wasn't fair; it had been over before he had even had time to register what was happening.

"Don't think I'm not grateful, Ryou," Yami said, smiling. "I was just surprised. Thank you so much. There...needs to be more people out there like you."

Ryou scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Then...you like it?"

Yami stared at him. "You only just realised that? Of course I like it! Thanks, Ryou!"

"It was nothing..." Ryou gulped, trying to keep his calm. "N- now you can get back to whatever it was you needed to do with the car."

A shadow suddenly fell over his eyes. "Oh, yes...I can." He paused. "It's okay, though; it can probably wait until morning."

Ryou looked surprised. "What? But I thought you needed to use it now!"

"Well I-"

"Go on!" he insisted eagerly. "I want to know how well it runs! Don't worry about me."

Yami looked at him for several seconds, searching for some emotion there. "Well, if you say so."

Ryou almost whooped with pride as the engine started beautifully. Waving goodbye to Ryou, Yami took off out of the garage.

Ryou practically skipped back to the elevator. He was covered in engine grease and he was tired and weary, but he didn't care. Yami had hugged him! And Yami was happy with Ryou's job on the car! Now, he was able to keep searching, because of Ryou. _Because of me! I helped him!_ Ryou hummed to himself on the way up to his floor. _I made him happy. That makes me happy._

It wasn't until he was opening the door to his apartment when he realised something else, and it was enough to turn him cold.

He recalled how he had insisted on Yami's leaving afterwards. He froze.

_Did he think I wanted him to leave? I bet he does! He wanted to stay - he actually wanted to stay! I thought he was doing it for me, but he wasn't. Why did I have to think he wanted to stay because of me? I'm not that special to him._ Ryou stared ahead, horrified. _Does he think I'm mad at him? But I was just excited about the car! He must know that! No...we haven't even known each other for two weeks; he doesn't know me that well. _He tried to push it away. _I haven't even known him for two weeks...so what right do I have to care so much? For all I know, he has a lover._

His happy mood suddenly downcast and dejected, Ryou closed the door behind him and made his way to the bathroom.

* * *

><p>I know absolutely nothing about cars... O.o just saying XD<p>

Please review :D Thanks so much for reading ;D


	5. Chapter 5

Ryou woke the next day to face a sight that he had never seen before.

It was Yami. Fast asleep on the couch.

Even though Ryou had _known_ that Yami slept there, he had never actually seen it. After all, even when Yami was in the apartment when Ryou went to bed, he was always awake until well after Ryou wasn't. And again, Ryou woke to fine him in the apartment he had always been awake for hours. Sometimes Ryou wondered if he actually slept at all.

And yet here he was, just lying there under Ryou's Star Wars blanket.

The couch was just long enough to fit the full length of his body without causing him to bend his knees. His head was propped up on the couch's armrest, the pillow jammed precariously in between the two as though it was going to fall off the side of the couch at any moment.

Keeping on the tips of his toes, Ryou crept over to him. Even when he was sleep, his spiky hair never strayed from its predestined place. It splayed out over the pillow like some kind of strange yellow, black and purple fan. One of his blonde bangs hung down over his face, tickling at his nose. Without even thinking about it, Ryou gently brushed it aside. Yami made to indication that he had felt the gesture.

Taking care to be quiet, Ryou kneeled down beside Yami's sleeping figure. Yami looked so peaceful when he slept; nothing like Ryou's mysterious roommate, shrouded in secrets. "Who are you?" he whispered. "Who are you looking for?"

Ryou didn't expect a reply and received none. Feeling silly, he straightened up again and made his way into the kitchen. Pouring himself a glass of milk, Ryou peered through the open door to the lounge. He could still see the tips of Yami's hair protruding from one side of the couch.

Ryou sat down at the table with a bowl of muesli and a straw for his milk – this one was banana flavoured - sitting so he would see when Yami woke up. Wondering if Yami had some kind of morning routine, Ryou got up again and flipped the button down on the kettle. Just in case.

While he ate his breakfast, he pondered the previous day again. He hoped Yami wasn't mad at him for making him leave, or thought that Ryou was mad at him for the same reason. He stared at his bowl sadly. He would have to make some kind of hint of offer so that Yami would know that Ryou wasn't mad. Just in case.

"Ryou?"

Ryou jumped, accidentally flinging his spoon. It landed about a foot away on the table, spilling muesli. "Good morning, Yami!" he smiled happily as he ran to get a sponge for the spoon.

Yami yawned and entered the kitchen. "You're up early."

"No, you're just up late."

He stopped mid-step. "What time is it?" He looked at the clock. "It's six o'clock," he finished, answering his own question. "Great."

"Are you taking off again?" Ryou asked, looking at him curiously over the rim of his milk glass.

He looked away. "I have nowhere to go; I've been following false leads for weeks now. I'm down to just doing a general sweep."

"Maybe he's not in the area," Ryou suggested.

Yami closed his eyes. Ryou could sense that he was far more dejected than usual. "That's just the thing; I don't know. He was last...seen, in this area, but he could be anywhere by now. All I can do it keep looking." He hit himself in the forehead, causing Ryou to jump out of his chair slightly out of pure instinct. "And I...I hate it, Ryou; I just can't stand being helpless. That's why I'm always out so late; I have to keep looking, because whenever I stop, I feel like I'm letting him down. But while I _am_ searching, and I can't find him, I feel even worse because I'm wasting time."

"Time until what?" Ryou asked, his voice heavy with concern.

Yami sat down opposite Ryou. "Time until..." He sighed. "It doesn't matter; it probably won't even happen. I...I know it won't ever happen, but I'm still afraid that it will."

Ryou was touched. Yami had finally confided in him. He only wished he knew what to say to him. He hesitated before reaching out and touching his hand gently. "Wh- whatever it is…I'm sure it won't."

Was that the right thing to say? He didn't know the full story; for all he knew he could have just said something horrible.

Yami didn't look all too upset, though. At least not with Ryou. He just sighed. After a moment, he pulled his hand away from Ryou's and stood up. "How is your rib?"

Ryou had forgotten about it until now. "Oh – it's fine. Thanks for asking. It only hurts if I move it or apply pressure."

Yami nodded, going over to the fridge. "That's good. I guess the fracture wasn't too bad."

"Thanks again for bandaging it for me," he threw in sincerely.

Yami smiled. "No problem, Ryou."

"What are you going to be doing today?" Ryou asked.

He sighed. "I don't know; I guess I'll try and find another lead."

"I have to go to work today; will you be here when I get back?"

"I don't know; it all depends on what I dig up."

Ryou nodded sadly. "Okay." He hesitated. "I…hope you find him today…so you can be at home more."

Yami looked across at him, a sad look across his features. For a second, he opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but then shut it. Ryou recognised the same sad smile that appeared to mar Yami's face sometimes. "I hope so too."

* * *

><p>Friday afternoon traffic was always the worst. Luckily for Ryou, he walked home on foot. This was normally a time eater, but on this occasion, he was able to bypass the standstill traffic entirely on his way back from work.<p>

He ran through the events of that morning in his head. Yami had been sleeping; that was strange in itself. Yami must have slept, but it had seemed until now that Yami never did so. Ryou bit his lip. Spending so long out and about on his fruitless mission couldn't be good for his health. Ryou didn't know much about sleep related diseases, but even so. He sighed. He wished that there was something he could do to make it easier for Yami; he was practically killing himself with so little sleep, whether he showed it or not. But when he didn't even know what Yami was doing, or who he was looking for, Ryou could barely hope to even understand.

But he had made progress, hadn't he? After all, Yami had talked to him about it that morning. What was it that he had said? He was last seen in the area but he could be anywhere by now.

Ryou would have been lying to himself if the possibility of Yami's mysterious friend being the person he was looking for hadn't crossed his mind. It would explain why Yami was so desperate to find him – and was so torn up over his prolonged failure. It would also explain why Yami hadn't spoken to his friend in so long.

But was that really it? Was Yami's friend really the missing person? Ryou sighed; there was still so much about Yami that he still didn't know. There was just so much about him _to_ know.

There was nothing unusual about Ryou; he hung out with his friends most weekends and worked on weekdays. He might as well have still been attending school, for all the change that occurred in his life. Yami already knew everything there was to know about him.

He had reached his apartment block and, sighing again, let himself in and made his way to the elevator. He couldn't believe how much he was obsessing over his roommate. After all, that was what Yami was; somebody who lived with him to help him pay the rent. That was all.

_So why am I still thinking about him_? Ryou wondered. _Because he fascinates me? Because he's so damn gorgeous? Because I'm worried about him? Because I think I…_

Ryou cut the thought off before it fully materialised. It was, after all, ridiculous. There was no way he would ever admit to having fallen for Yami.

The lift doors slid open and Ryou dejectedly walked towards his door. Ever since he had first met Yami – barely two weeks ago – everything had been different. There were two types of time; time when Yami was nearby, and time when he wasn't.

And whether he liked it or not, nothing seemed natural, nothing even seemed _plausible _– during the latter. Every moment was a moment between now and when he next saw Yami.

Ryou unlocked the door and rested his hand on the handle, hesitating before he turned it. What if Yami was home? Ryou bit his lip. He cherished the few moments they had shared, but talking to him, seeing him there, just...being Yami – relentless, mysterious Yami...it was becoming harder to think.

_Maybe I...I..._Ryou closed his eyes. _Maybe I really have fallen for him._

He opened them again.

_In two weeks? When he was out looking for somebody I don't even know most of the time anyway? What am I saying; I hardly know him at all. What right did he ever have to just...to just drop out of the sky and make me care?_

Ryou gulped. Whatever happened, he had to keep his feelings bottled up inside. Because if he didn't...He had a friendship with Yami, and he wasn't going to lost that too because he couldn't keep his mouth shut about his true feelings.

Thinking of corn flakes before a tear could fall from his eye, Ryou opened the door.

Their apartment was in complete shambles. Ryou stared, utterly gobsmacked. Every pillow from the furniture lay separate from its case and strewn across the floor. The furniture itself was upside down as though it had been pushed over in a hurry. Ryou let out a gasp, wondering if anything had been stolen. The contents of both the fridge and the pantry were also lying all over the kitchen floor, most of it no longer fit for use.

Blinking away his shock, Ryou made for his bedroom. All his clothes had been pulled from their draws and hangers and were in a messy heap on the middle. His blanket and pillow were out of their cases and strewn across the floor, like the pillows in the lounge. Even mis mattress had been thrown off and the bed had been pushed aside.

He found the study in a similar state of disarray. The books were scattered everywhere, and the desk draws lay untidily on the floor. Yami always took his computer and bag with him when he went; at the very least they couldn't have been touched.

Still in a state of shock, Ryou half-fell down onto the cushion-less couch. Had Yami done this? No way...this wasn't something Yami would do. Their apartment had been broken into.

But why? Had they taken anything? Or had they been looking for something specific? How was Ryou ever going to know what was still there?

He looked at the phone, which was hanging from its chord on the wall. He could try calling the police...but what if nothing had been taken? Would they really care if somebody had just broken in and made a mess before leaving? Probably not. Ryou considered telling them that something was missing anyway, but...that would be misinforming.

There was only one thing he could do to find out if anything had been taken. Ryou pulled himself to his feet. He had needed something to distract his mind from Yami anyway. He rolled up his sleeves and set to work.

* * *

><p>When you're about to cry, think of corn flakes. You have no emotional connection to corn flakes. Therefore, you stop crying. Try it; it works ^^<p>

I know this chapter was laaaaaame D: Please don't hate me XO And thanks again for reading - I love you guys C;!

I won't be able to do any writing until this weekend at the very earliest - I'M SORRRRRRY D: I'm going on a super important Biology camp (Huzzah :D)

Anyway, thanks again :D See you in chapter six~!

~IA


	6. Chapter 6

**Warning: You are going to be ****seriously**** disappointed by the end of this chapter. I sure as cheese hated doing it D:**

* * *

><p>When Yami returned to their apartment, it was eleven o'clock at night.<p>

If he was honest with himself, he hadn't been optimistic when he had left that morning. But now, he felt utterly hopeless. It was as though each day of nothing was eating a little more out of him.

He let himself into the apartment, being careful to be quiet. Ryou was usually asleep by the time he returned. He felt around for the light switch and flicked it, illuminating the room.

Nothing seemed out of order; everything was as it should be. Yami was about to set up camp on the lounge room floor when he noticed Ryou curled up on the couch. He did a double take.

Ryou was dressed in his polka-dot pyjamas, but only the collar was visible over the thick green blanket he was underneath. He had huddled himself into a tiny ball and was lying with his head resting on the arm rest with his legs tucked up against his chest. His breathing was soft and gentle; the steady rise and fall rhythm of his chest was almost soothing to Yami.

Yami closed the door behind him and locked it, not taking his eyes off Ryou.

He didn't usually sleep on the couch. Peering into Ryou's room, Yami found it as immaculate as ever. There was no reason why it would be out of service.

Trying not to wake Ryou, Yami made his way into the kitchen wherein he found a note stuck to the fridge. Frowning, Yami picked it up.

_Hi Yami :) Don't worry; I cleaned the apartment. I also made you some dinner in case you were hungry; it's in the fridge, so you just need to heat it up. I don't know when you're getting back, so I'm just leaving a note in case I've gone to bed. I actually wrote this before I finished cleaning, so there's no telling what could happen. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow~!_

_Ryou_

Yami wondered why Ryou had seen it necessary to clean the apartment, but after a moment of pondering, he gave up and let out an amused chuckle, his mood lightening. Ryou had that effect on people; it was just so _easy_ to feel happy around him. Even to Yami, who had been so sure that he would never smile again until he had found who he was looking for. His mood saddened at the thought of this, followed by a twang of guilt. What right did he have to be feeling happy around a fluffy haired car enthusiast who liked Snuggies and flavoured milk? Irritated, he slammed the note back onto the fridge door. He was going to be leaving as soon as his task here was complete. Why did it matter how Ryou made him feel?

Despite this thought, he couldn't keep his eyes from trailing down the note once more. Unwillingly, Yami smiled again. Seeing Ryou's naive innocence on material paper was enough to cheer anyone up.

* * *

><p>Ryou didn't think he had been asleep for very long when the sound of nearby footsteps caused him to stir. Eyes heavy, he blinked a few times, disorientated. That was right; he had finished cleaning, cooked dinner, showered and finally collapsed on the couch, too exhausted to traverse the final short hike back to his room.<p>

He sat up and rubbed his eyes, pushing the strange green blanket off of himself. He heard Yami in the kitchen, and sat bolt upright.

There had been nothing missing from the apartment, with the strange addition of the green blanket. This meant that Yami must have done it. Maybe a party of some kind...Ryou felt a little hurt at having not been invited, especially since it was taking place in his own home. But still, he couldn't exactly have skipped work, and besides, it was good that Yami had clearly made some friends.

Ryou got up and walked slowly towards the source of the sound, his feet patting noisily. "Yami?" He yawned, rubbing his eyes again.

"Oh – Ryou! Did I wake you? I'm sorry."

Ryou smiled slowly. "It's fine; I didn't mean to fall asleep on the couch. If you hadn't woken me I'd have been stealing your sleeping place."

Yami didn't look convinced, but Ryou smiled again reassuringly. "Anyway, I'm wide awake now; what are you doing? Are you hungry? I made you some dinner."

"Thanks, Ryou."

They fell into silence.

"Hey, Yami?" Ryou asked, remembering something. "Do you know where this came from?" Without waiting for an answer, he ran out to the couch. Yami followed.

Ryou picked up the green blanket and showed it to him. "I don't know where it came from, but it's hella comfy."

Yami nodded. "That's mine – I bought it today."

Ryou frowned. "But, why?"

Yami took the blanket from Ryou and put it back on the couch. "To replace your Star Wars one."

Ryou hesitated. "But I told you I didn't mind you using it! You didn't need to buy a new one..."

Yami looked at him, his usually hard gaze softening. "I wasn't trying to second-guess you, Ryou. I just...well, you didn't _mind_ me using it, but I could tell you didn't necessarily _like_ it. You love that blanket. You didn't want to give it away."

Ryou blinked, touched. It was amazing how easily Yami had seen through him. It was true; he hated sharing his precious blanket, even with Yami.

_Don't be ridiculous_, he told himself. _He doesn't care about me and my blanket. He felt really stupid using it and got a new one. He's just too polite to say so._

Ryou bit his lip. "Oh...thank you, Yami. I'm sorry I was using it."

There was a moment's pause before Yami took a step closer to him. "Don't worry about it, Ryou...you can use it whenever you want." His hand suddenly rested on Ryou's arm. "I've been using yours for two weeks now."

Two weeks, two weeks...that was all they had known each other for. So why did Yami's hand set Ryou's heart off like gunfire?

It was too much, standing here with Yami. Being so close, and yet staring at him through the impenetrable barrier that was his shroud of secrets. His touch causing the hairs on Ryou's arm to stand on their ends; his scent invading Ryou's senses; his face and its frame of spiky hair...

Ryou drew in a breath. "Yami, I..."

Yami lowered his head slightly so that his eyes were level with Ryou's. "Ryou?"

It was way too much. Ryou couldn't take it. His foot shaking, he took a step backwards and tripped over his heel, falling backwards onto the couch. Without so much as a thought, he grabbed Yami for support, only to pull him down too. Ryou had only a moment to sit on the couch in a daze before Yami inevitably fell on top of him, his hand reaching out to break his fall.

Ryou let out an agonised gasp as Yami's hand connected with his side. Yami had straightened himself up in an instant. "Oh god, Ryou...your rib. I'm so sorry!"

Ryou hardly even noticed him. His mouth gaped open in a soundless wail of pain. His hand found his side and he clutched it gently. "Ah..."

Without waiting, Yami rolled up the side of Ryou's shirt and looked at the bandages. "There's no way of seeing the wound; we'll have to take the bandage off."

Ryou was coming back to his senses, the sharp burst of intense pain finally beginning to subside. "No...don't. It's fine, Yami. It's starting to get better." He let out a weak smile. "It didn't hurt that much; you just surprised me, that's all. I'll be okay; it doesn't even hurt at all anymore."

Ryou was seated on the couch, with Yami crouched in front of him, eye to eye. After an awkward moment, they both looked away.

"It's good that it doesn't hurt anymore," Yami said, obviously trying to break the silence. "It...would be horrible if it got worse."

Ryou nodded. "I...should probably get up now." He made to stand, only to trigger another sudden spasm of pain. He doubled over, letting out a sharp gasp.

"Ryou...!"

"It hurts, Yami," Ryou said through gritted teeth.

Yami carefully sat next to Ryou on the couch, being careful not to jerk it too suddenly, and placed his arms around him, his fingers entwining on Ryou's other side. Wordlessly, Yami held Ryou close. "Shh..."

Almost without thinking, Ryou clung to Yami. It was as though his simple act of being there was taking the edge off the pain. Somehow, he was able to keep his breathing normal until the pain from his rib subsided again.

"I...I think I'm okay now."

Ryou was all too aware of what was going on. How could Yami be holding him so close and not feeling a machine gun that was Ryou's pounding heart? Was it that he could feel it and wasn't saying so?

Despite Ryou's statement, he didn't let go of Yami. His hands were together on one of Yami's shoulders with his elbows on either side of Yami's body, holding Ryou himself to him like a vice. Yami's arms were wrapped tightly around Ryou's body. Letting go wasn't an option. How could it be, when time itself was surely about to stop, preserving Ryou and Yami's embrace for the rest of eternity? Yami in his sleeveless leather top and Ryou in his polka dot pyjamas,

"I..." Ryou had never seen Yami look so speechless.

Forcing the words out of his mouth, Ryou raised his eyes to meet Yami's. "Um...Thank you, Yami." He paused. "We should probably let go now."

And let go Yami did. One of his arms removed itself from Ryou's body as his hand moved to gently trace the outline of Ryou's face. "Probably."

Yami's finger lazily brushed a lock of thick white hair from Ryou's pale face. And then, completely out of nowhere, Yami kissed him.

For several seconds, Ryou was too shocked to even comprehend what was happening. In this time, both of Yami's arms had released Ryou's body and moved to his face. One hand trailed down and rested on Ryou's neck. The other cupped Ryou's cheek.

At first, Yami's lips were soft and tentative, pressing Ryou's lightly. Then they grew more urgent, more needy. Finally letting the reality sink in, Ryou raised his arms and rested his hands on Yami's shoulders, using this as a leverage to pull himself closer to Yami. And then Ryou was returning Yami's kiss, his breath coming in short gasps in the brief moments in which they broke apart.

After a few seconds, they both stopped. Yami pulled back slightly, and Ryou opened the eyes he hadn't realised he had closed. "...Yami?"

"Ryou..." Yami's lips descended on Ryou's again. His arms moved down the sides of Ryou's body and wrapped around him again, holding their two selves close enough to have been fused by the sheer heat.

Ryou tilted his head slightly and closed his eyes again, his arms curling needfully around Yami. Nothing at all mattered to him. Nothing would ever matter again. All that mattered was staying here forever. Here in Yami's arms, being Yami's.

One of Yami's hands crept up to Ryou's chest and pushed slightly, meeting no resistance. Ryou leaned back on the couch, letting Yami descend on top of him. Yami propped himself up on his elbows, still kissing Ryou. His lips slowly moved down Ryou's face, brushing it adoringly. He started to kiss Ryou's neck, and Ryou's breath sped up even more. "Yami...!"

Yami suddenly pulled back ever so slightly again. Ryou stared at him, lips slightly parted and still breathing heavily. Wordlessly, Yami reached for the top button of Ryou's shirt and began to unbutton it.

Ryou's heart let out a small flutter as he realised what was happening. One of his hands slid under Yami's shirt and he let out a soft moan and Yami's other hand did the same to Ryou, caressing his skin. Ryou wrapped his other hand around Yami and pulled himself closer.

There was a fire inside Ryou that had been awakened by Yami's first kiss. A relentless, all consuming flare of longing, need, desire and passion. Insatiable but for Yami. Yami, Yami, Yami...Ryou moaned again, and above him, Yami did the same. "Ryou!" he gasped, kissing him harder. His hand finished with the top button, it slid down to the next.

It came like something that had been dragged, kicking and screaming out of a film. The sound of a phone call, greedy for their attention.

Ryou and Yami didn't want to notice it, and it took a while for them to do so. At least two rings had passed before they broke apart, both panting. Ryou didn't even spare the phone a glance as he stared up at Yami, staring down, both their mouths still agape. Ryou shook his head slightly, an ever so slight refusal. Without needing any better signal, Yami pressed his lips against Ryou's again. The phone rang out and stopped.

Ryou's third button was undone before it rang again. He moaned, hatred boiling up inside him for their persistent caller. How could they be trying to dampen something that needed to happen so, so badly?

Again, they broke apart, staring at one another. This time, Ryou managed to break Yami's gaze and look at the ringing telephone for a fraction of a second. It was at least another ring before Ryou managed to form recognisable words. "I should get that...so they'll stop calling."

His eyes ablaze with frustration, Yami sat back on the couch, lifting himself off of Ryou. It took Ryou another few seconds to get his bearings before he finally made a dash for the phone, not taking his eyes off of Yami. "I'll be quick," he said, suddenly feeling incredibly shy. Yami gave a meaningful grin and got up, walking over to Ryou.

He came up behind him just as Ryou lifted the phone off its receiver. Yami wrapped his arms around Ryou's waist and started fiddling with the next button on Ryou's shirt. Ryou's heart gave another fluttery jump as, hands shaking, he lifted the phone to his ear.

"H- hello?" he murmured, his breath still coming shallow and fast. He wished he could keep his voice steady, but with Yami so close, he didn't even know how he was going to pay attention to the caller.

The voice was an unfamiliar one. However, it was alarmingly similar to Ryou's in that it was shaky and hurried. "I'm sorry; I don't have much time. Is Yami there? I really need to talk to him."

The voice was hushed, as though the speaker was whispering. Even Ryou could barely make out what he was saying. "Yami?"

Yami was instantly on alert. He let go of Ryou.

"...Sure you can. He's right-"

Yami snatched the phone from Ryou's quavering hands and took a few steps away. "Who is this?"

Ryou blinked, confused. Who was the caller? Did Yami know him?

Yami lifted his face and let out a sigh of such immense relief and joy that Ryou almost jumped. Yami leaned back against the wall. "Yugi...oh, Yugi, it's so good to hear your voice."

"Yugi?" Ryou asked quizzically, looking at Yami with wide, confused eyes.

Yami didn't even spare Ryou a second glance. He was far too intent on the phone. "How did you get this number - no wait, it doesn't matter. Have they hurt you, Yugi?"

Ryou wished he could hear what Yugi was saying. There didn't seem to be much that he could do but wait.

Yami's whole face hardened in fury. Ryou had never seen him look so terrifying. "I'll kill them, Yugi. I swear to god."

Ryou stared at him, alarmed. What?

"We'll worry about that later; do you know where you are?" Yami was clutching the telephone with both hands as if that could somehow bring him closer to the person on the other line.

"I've got it, Yugi." He paused. "Listen, Yugi; I will come for you. Do you understand me? I _will_ find you."

The hard mask of Yami's face dropped away again. "You have absolutely nothing to worry about, I promise you, Yugi. I'll see you very, very soon."

Ryou bit his lip, twiddling his fingers. _What's happening, Yami?_

Yami sighed again, his eyes closed. "You _will_ be okay. Yugi, I love you."

Ryou's heart turned to stone. For a brief, blissful second, the feeling remained trapped in the confines of his chest, before slowly and painfully spreading out to the rest of his body. _Yugi, I love you. Yugi, I love you..._

Ryou heard the sound of Yugi saying something on the other end of the phone, and then, after a few sudden words, the dial tone abruptly cut him off.

There was complete and utter silence.

And then Yami was on the move. He snatched up his backpack and made for the door, slinging the bag over his shoulder while he did so.

"Yami, wait!"

Ryou didn't know why he blurted it out. It was so obvious that all Yami wanted was to leave and find Yugi. His Yugi. His lover.

Yami closed his eyes for a second before turning to face Ryou's warm, brown eyes. "Ryou..."

They stared at each other for a moment before Ryou looked away. "Um..."

"Ryou...I'm sorry...I am so, so sorry."

Even in this state of shock, Ryou reacted as he always would. "You don't need to be sorry, Yami." He hesitated. "I'm just..."

Yami looked at the floor. "What happened before the call...it shouldn't have happened."

_Yes, it should!_ The thought had careered through Ryou's confused brain before his better judgement had a chance to stop it. _It was meant to happen! Couldn't you feel it too? Could it really have all been me?_

Yami straightened up and looked Ryou square in the eyes. "Ryou Bakura." He lingered on Ryou's name. "You are one of the best people I have ever had the privilege of knowing. I...I'm glad that the call stopped us where we were. Before I had a chance to hurt you." He turned around again. "Please, Ryou...if you care about me, don't forgive me. I would never be able to cope." He reached for the door handle.

Ryou sprang forward. "Yami, I..." _Yami, I love you!_

Ryou choked his sentence short. What was he thinking? Did he honestly still believe Yami cared about him? He was on love with Yugi! If Ryou told him now...about his true feelings, it would look like a feeble, desperate attempt and convincing Yami to stay. Insincere and pathetic. Was that how he wanted Yami to remember him?

"Yami...I won't pretend to know what's going on," Ryou murmured. "But I hope you find what you're looking for."

"Thank you, Ryou...that means so much to me."

Another moment had passed before Ryou dared to speak again. "Will I ever see you again, Yami?"

Yami gave a very sad sigh. "I don't think so, Ryou."

He turned his head to look at Ryou one last time. Ryou had never seen a look of such anguish and regret dare to cross the face of anyone as the one he saw on Yami.

He didn't wait any longer. He opened the door and left the apartment. "Goodbye, Ryou Bakura. I will never forget you."

Ryou could only watch as Yami closed the door behind him. Every synapse in his brain was firing. _Follow him! Go; he's Yami! If you don't, you'll never see him again!_

But he didn't. It was obvious what had happened; Yami had found his missing 'friend'. And he had chosen this friend, this 'Yugi', over Ryou. And rightly so; they were in love! What right did someone as plain and ordinary as Ryou Bakura have to take away something that Ryou now knew was the most precious thing in the universe?

The cold stony feeling that had spread out from Ryou's broken heart had been holding his head together. But now, alone in the big, empty apartment, it released its hold on Ryou's brain, and there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop himself from collapsing to the floor in a fit of shuddering sobs.

* * *

><p>THE END<p>

Just kidding ;D I wouldn't do that~! I love you guys :3


	7. Chapter 7

So~! I just re-watched the 3rd YGOTAS Spectacularmathon ^^ And guess what happens to Little Bakura? His ribs get broken :D I guess it must have seeped into my subconscious XD

And...and...YAMI BAKURA SAYS HUZZAH! D: I THOUGHT THAT WAS MY WORD! *cries* lol XD Maybe that seeped into my subconscious too ;)

Yeah...I kinda killed the flow of the story there XD Sorry; had to get that off my chest :P Huzzah!

* * *

><p>Two weeks ago, Ryou had been afraid of sharing his home with a stranger. Deep down, he cherished the bliss of solitude that he felt when home alone. Giving that away had terrified him.<p>

But now, all alone in that big, empty apartment, all he wanted was Yami to come back to him. To say that he was sorry for leaving, to say that he was never going to go away ever again and that he wanted to spend his life by Ryou's side. To say that he loved him.

Ryou didn't know how long he stayed curled up on the floor of his living room, crying his heart out as though that would make it stop breaking every time he recalled Yami's parting words. _Goodbye, Ryou Bakura._

He didn't care that they had been interrupted. He didn't care that it was Yami's missing 'friend' who had done so. He didn't even care that Yami was in love with Yugi. Ryou could have lived with that, somehow, if Yami had stayed. All Ryou could bring himself to care about was the fact that Yami had left him, forever. And Ryou had never even told him the truth.

Trembling, Ryou looked up and stared around the apartment. It looked almost exactly the same as it had before Yami had moved in. The depletion of Ryou's chocolate straws stash and the strange green blanket were the only indications that Yami had ever existed.

Ryou made his way over to the couch and picked up the green blanket. It was Yami's blanket. But Yami had never had a chance to use it. It smelt like Ryou.

Ryou bent down and picked up the Star Wars blanket, which had been knocked accidentally off the couch by either Yami or Ryou...before the call. This one was Ryou's. It had been Ryou's since he was eight years old. But when he lifted it to his face and breathed deeply, all he could smell was Yami.

Clutching the blanket to his chest, Ryou burst into sobs again. "Yami...I'm so sorry," he cried. Yami had only kissed him because he had pitied him; it was so, so, obvious. Ryou's feelings were like an open book; of course Yami had known that Ryou loved him. He just couldn't bear to tell him that he already had a lover. It was only natural that somebody like Yami would pity him.

Ryou put the blanket down again, afraid to touch it in case he rubbed off Yami's scent. He traced his fingers over the couch and closed his eyes, bringing back their last few minutes together. He laid his head down on the side of the couch, his tears beginning to stain it. How could Yami have been in love with Yugi that whole time?

His fingers collected a few stray hairs on the couch, and Ryou held them up to his eyes. A single long white hair and a black hair tipped with purple. Ryou and Yami. Right here in his fingers. Blinking away the tears, Ryou twisted the two hairs together, entwining them as his and Yami's lives would never be. But as soon as he let go of the tips of the hairs, they bounced apart as any hairs would. Ryou started crying again. It was just like his life; Yami had only stayed because Ryou was holding him there. And now he was gone. Ryou let the hairs slip from his fingers.

He rested his head on the couch again.

_One night, Ryou,_ he told himself. _I'll cry for one night. And then, tomorrow, I'm going to wake up and pull myself together. _He sniffled. _And then I'm going to get dressed into my jeans and stripy shirt. I'm going to have a bowl of corn flakes for breakfast and brush my teeth, and then I'm going to go to that soccer match with my friends, because it'll be Saturday and that's what friends do on weekends. _The tears erupted from his eyes again. _And I'll tell them with an innocent smile that Yami left, laugh it off, and say I'll just advertise for a new room mate. And they're never going to know how heartbroken I am, because I don't want them to worry about me. One night is all I'm allowing myself. Just one night._

Clutching the green blanket to himself as though it would protect him from the pain of his loss, Ryou closed his eyes and cried himself to sleep.

* * *

><p>Ryou had thrown away the scrap of paper given to him by the lady at the newspaper firm the day he had met Yami. But he had put the number into his phone. That was one connection they still shared.<p>

He knew in himself that he wanted to call the number. He also knew that Yami wouldn't pick up. But if there was an answering machine message in Yami's voice, Ryou wanted to hear it. He couldn't bear the thought that the last words he had heard Yami say had been a saddened goodbye. He wanted to hear Yami tell him in a cheery voice that if he left a message, he would get back to him as soon as possible.

But he didn't call it. For all he knew, Yami had found Yugi by now and he was happily forgetting his former room mate.

As Ryou had promised himself, he didn't cry on Saturday morning, at least not on the outside. He kept his true sorrow bottled up inside him and somehow managed to get through the day with a smile on his face.

When Ryou went down to the soccer field, he didn't play the full game but stopped to watch at half time when his rib started hurting. It brought back the memory of when he had first broken it, and-

Ryou pushed the thought away before he started crying again.

For the second half of the game, he wasn't really paying attention his friends. He sighed, resting his head on his chin. He took out his phone and stared at it, bringing Yami's phone number onto the screen. He had memorised it already.

The ball skidded past him, and Ryou started, before stopping it and rolling it back into the field. Somebody just got a free kick. He didn't bother to find out whom.

He looked at his phone again, wishing Yami would call. He just wanted to know that Yami was alright; it had sounded as though Yugi was in danger, and if Yami was going after him...

The thought was almost enough to make Ryou call Yami right then and there. He didn't know which scared him more; the fact that Yami might be putting himself in danger for Yugi, or the fact that Ryou might never find out what had happened.

Ryou felt his eyes begin to moisten again. _I mustn't cry...I mustn't cry..._he thought, somehow managing to keep the tears away.

Ryou went down to the local mechanic after the soccer game and started interfering with the vehicles the mechanic was working on, to his intense fury. Ryou did, of course, fix two of them in less than the time it had taken the mechanic to fix one, infuriating him even more. Much as he hated annoying him, Ryou needed to do it; it was therapeutic, and even the mechanic himself knew that Ryou was a far better car fixer than he would ever be.

Ryou didn't want to go home to the empty apartment. Even when Yami hadn't been there when Ryou came home, there had always been the reassuring knowledge that he could walk in at any minute. But now...it was just so final.

Ryou knew he was stalling for time until he would have to return, and this upset him. He had never pictured himself as the type to run away from his problems.

But then again, had also never pictured himself as the type to fall in love with somebody like Yami.

When Ryou finally returned to his apartment building, he was exhausted. He had been helping the mechanic for the past four hours. It had distracted him from thinking of Yami, but he hadn't even noticed how badly he was wearing himself out.

But he couldn't bring himself to open the door. If Yami wasn't there, Ryou would lose the last hope he was clinging to that Yami may still return to him. And as much as this hope pained him, Ryou didn't want to lose it just yet.

He took his hand off the handle. He would run away, just this once. For a few hours.

The Saturday night party on the above floor was well underway when Ryou gatecrashed it. Since most of the people present were gatecrashers to begin with, nobody even noticed him.

Ryou didn't enjoy himself. There was too much noise and too many people. Ryou didn't like being around so many people he didn't even know. The air reeked of cigarette smoke and everyone – _everyone_ – was drinking. The music which had always seemed loud from the floor below was deafening from the apartment at its source. It almost made Ryou cry; he could feel himself losing eardrums by the minute.

Somebody offered Ryou a drink, which Ryou took out of manners. He sat at the table, staring at it but not daring to touch it. It was some kind of alco-pop. Ryou grimaced; he drank milk for a reason.

Ryou couldn't see how anybody could bear to host such an event on a weekly basis, or how anybody could bear to come. He already hated it. But it did at least distract him from the pain of his loss. Here in this ear-killing party, the memory of Yami could not haunt him. And for that reason alone, being there was utter bliss.

He dutifully stayed until the party started to break up. However, when it did so, Ryou was the first to go. He dashed for the elevator, his ears ringing. He was never going to come back. Ever.

The lift was jam-packed with drunken partygoers, and Ryou found himself wedged in between them. His heart raced, almost scared. A babble of inappropriate words and suggestive remarks washed over his head, and Ryou literally covered his ears, squishing his eyes shut. The single floor was the longest lift ride of his life.

When it finally spat him out on the next level down, he stumbled towards his apartment door. He hadn't touched alcohol at all, but looking at him, it was hard to tell the difference. He could barely hear over the buzzing in his ears and his vision was fuzzy from sheer exhaustion.

He opened the door. For all its unpleasantries, the party had succeeded in making him too desperate for bed to cry over Yami.

Ryou made for his bathroom. He was still wearing his soccer clothes and was covered in engine grease; it was amazing his neighbour had even let him in looking like he did. Maybe a shower would help Ryou to clear his head.

He was barely halfway across the room when he felt a tiny prick at his neck.

Was it some kind of spider? His fingers darted up to the spot automatically. They found a strange protuberance from his skin, which came off easily.

Ryou stared at the dart, dumbfounded.

Everything happened very quickly, then. He heard the sound of approaching footsteps as he started to feel dizzy. And then he heard another sound. A sound he had thought he would never hear again.

"Get down, Ryou!"

Ryou didn't need to obey the order; his body was doing it for him. "Yami...you came back," he breathed, toppling to the floor as blackness closed in around him.


	8. Chapter 8

There was no easy distinction between when Ryou was awake and when he wasn't. Consciousness crept in so slowly that, when he became aware that his muffled senses were sending information to his weary brain, he realised that they had been doing to for some time now.

He couldn't hope to make sense of them, though; at least not yet. It was like they were coming to him through a blocked filter; the tiny pieces of information he received were small and seemingly meaningless.

Ryou had never felt so tired in his life. He could have been sleeping in the middle of a mob and he wouldn't have been able to lift his head. He let out a quiet moan, suddenly noticing the horrible pounding in his head.

"My been twisted as feels head it's though off..." he groaned, trying to open his eyes.

Out of the stream of incomprehensible words, he recognised his own name. "Ryou!" followed be something his tired brain couldn't be bothered to make sense of.

Ryou twitched his fingers, desperate to move but his body refusing to obey him.

He tried to recall what had happened. His ears had hurt...he had gone home...there had been a dart...and Yami. Yami! Yami had come back! Was he here now?

Ryou groaned, at last forcing his eyes open. They were met with impossibly bright light, and he squished them shut again.

"Get the lights, Yugi."

Yugi...Yugi was here too. Suddenly, Ryou wished he hadn't woken. How could he ever look this 'Yugi' in the eye? He had done nothing wrong. It wasn't his fault that Ryou had fallen for his lover.

The redness on the front of Ryou's eyelids suddenly dissappeared and Ryou was finally able to open his eyes and keep them that way.

Ryou looked around the dark room, fear creeping in. What had happened while he was asleep?

The pounding refused to go away. Ryou groaned. He had never known headaches until this one. And he hadn't even been drinking!

He tried to repeat his first sentence. "My head feels as though it's been twisted off," he croaked.

He felt a familiar arm move itself across his back and help him sit up. Ryou looked around, trying to see Yami's face in the darkness. "Don't worry, Ryou; you're safe now."

In that moment, Yami was right. Ryou was safe, and he was with Yami. He almost sighed, letting the moment last as long as it could.

Ryou's eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness, and his senses were beginning to sharpen. He could feel that he was in a bed somewhere, but the bed was not his own. He grasped around in the dark, trying to find something to hold himself up with...so he wouldn't have to rely on Yami. "I...think you can turn the lights on now. I'm sorry."

There was a flick, followed by more invasive brightness. Ryou had to squint and gradually open his eyes again.

Yami was crouched beside Ryou's bed. Ryou couldn't bring himself to look at him. "Uh..."

Suddenly, Yami let go of him, and Ryou flopped lifelessly back onto the bed. "Ryou, what the hell were you thinking?" Yami demanded. "Your door wasn't even locked when you walked in, was it?"

Ryou stared at him blankly, taking several seconds for his words to sink in. What was Yami talking about? Before Ryou had fainted...come to think about it...his door _hadn't_ been locked. He had just walked right in. "Um...no?"

"You could have been killed! You walked right into an obvious trap!"

Ryou braved a glance at him, and looked away quickly. "I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention!"

"To hell you weren't!" Yami was practically fuming. Ryou flinched. He had only just woken up and Yami was already mad at him. He wanted to cry.

"I..." He gulped. "I was..." _I was what? I was upset?_ _I couldn't hear? I was tired?_ What could he possibly say to make Yami stop being angry when he didn't even understand what was going on to begin with?

Eventually, he just burst into tears. "I'm sorry, Yami."

Yami hesitated. He let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm sorry, too, Ryou; I shouldn't have yelled at you. Just...be more careful." He stood up.

Ryou sat up in the bed on his own, curling himself into a tiny ball. "Where am I?"

He looked around the room, trying to get his bearings. It appeared to be some kind of motel room.

Suddenly he noticed a figure lingering by the door, where the light switch must have been. Ryou stared at his feet timorously, but soon his curiosity got the better of him and he looked up again.

Yugi wasn't quite as Ryou had imagined him; he was incredibly tiny, at least a head shorted than Ryou. His hair was styled almost identically to Yami's; he had the same black and purple spikes, the same blonde bangs, with the absence of Yami's blonde streaks.

Yugi was already running back to Yami's side. Ryou almost looked away when his hand slid into Yami's in such a natural motion.

"Um..." Ryou cleared his throat. "I'm...I'm really sorry; I don't know what's going on..."

Yami sighed. "You're right...I'll explain everything." He took a deep breath. "Yugi, would you mind packing the rest of the stuff?"

Yugi nodded hastily and made to go. Yami briefly kissed him on the forehead, and Ryou felt his heart flutter almost painfully. Yugi ran towards the door and dissappeared.

For a moment, Yami didn't speak. He turned around, unsure where to begin.

Ryou looked at his back. He didn't appear any different to how he had been when Ryou had last seen him, but his shoulders were tensed and he was noticeably messier; the usually straight spikes of his hair were now frayed and tattered. Ryou bit his lip, wondering if he had slept at all since he left to look for Yugi.

Ryou could only wait in apprehension. He had spent so much time wondering about the truth behind Yami. And now, he was about to hear it from Yami's own mouth. Hesitantly, he peered through his fringe of white hair at Yami.

Suddenly, Yami turned again to face Ryou, and Ryou's eyes instantly fell to his feet again. "You came back," he whispered. "Why?"

Yami looked away for a second. "I found out how Yugi got the apartment's number. Just give me a moment and I'll get to it." He looked around as though he was trying to find somewhere to sit. Eventually, he just started speaking.

"Listen, Ryou...I'm sorry I got you involved in this." He stopped talking for a second and then just sighed. "To put it simply, I used to be part of this street gang."

Ryou blinked. Of everything he might have expected, this was not it.

"Causing trouble; graffiti, shoplifting, stuff like that." He sighed again. "It's not something I'm proud of...at least, not anymore." He looked away from Ryou. "For a while, everything seemed fine – at least, from a gang's perspective. But then...I met Yugi."

Ryou's heart clenched.

"Yugi was working part-time in a general store to pay for his Uni tuition. I met him on my own; for once I didn't have the gang to flank me."

He smiled at the memory. "I remember seeing a twenty dollar note in his pocket. I was going to steal it. But then, he accidentally dropped the box he was carrying and, out of pure instinct, I managed to catch it before it fell on his toe."

Ryou shifted uncomfortably. Wasn't this what he wanted – for Yami to tell him about his past? He squeezed his eyes shut. He had absolutely no right to be upset at hearing how Yami had met Yugi.

Yami kept talking. "Yugi was gushingly grateful to me; he wouldn't leave me alone after that." He laughed. "I thought it was a little frustrating at first; he was following me around the store like a puppy, as if he was worried I didn't think he appreciated what I had done for him. He...had no idea who I was."

_Just like me._

"I was about to just push him away and tell him to, and I quote my thoughts at the time, butt out." Yami smiled again. "But then, he said something that I'll never forget...he told me that he was glad I had been there."

Yami looked at Ryou again. "Nobody, in my entire life, had ever said that to me...ever. In fact, I don't think anybody had ever said anything nice to me until Yugi."

He leaned against the wall. "I've never been one to believe in love at first sight, but Yugi and I...we just clicked. At that moment, I never wanted to set foot on the outdoor pavement ever again. I just wanted to stay there in that dinky little general store with Yugi for the rest of my life."

Ryou caught himself before he burst into tears. He couldn't cry; not in front of Yami, not while he was saying these words...

"I didn't know where I was going from there, but it definitely wasn't back to any gang." He set his jaw. "I never, ever, went back."

He laughed dryly. "Leaving gangs isn't as easy as it sounds, though; the gang leader takes it as a personal insult to his pride if you just up and quit...especially for love." He gave a very sad sigh. "Yugi let me stay with him...we had five months together."

Yami turned away again. "In those five months, the gang was at me and at me. Come back or die...and I turned them down every time." A fire of undisguised heat burned inside Yami's crimson eyes. "I had found Yugi and I was staying with him forever."

Ryou hugged his legs tighter to himself. He needed his knees close by to bury his face in if he couldn't hold back his tears any longer.

"I was always coming back with bruises and scars; they don't take no for an answer lightly...they had a habit of leaving me with something to think about. Make me consider their offer." He clenched his fist. "Yugi was horrified, of course; I never told him, not once...I didn't want him to worry about me or think we needed to leave the area. No matter how he begged..." Yami closed his eyes. "I never cracked, even to him. It was my burden to bear. But then..."

Yami's eyes shot open again and he flexed his fists. Ryou would have sworn his teeth were grinding with hatred.

"Yugi got involved. He was out alone when they attacked him. That's how he..."

"...Broke his rib," Ryou finished quietly.

Yami nodded. "That's right. He stumbled through that door and he- oh, god...my blood still boils thinking about it." His fists were literally shaking. Biting his lip, Ryou tentatively reached out a hand and touched Yami's gently. Yami closed his eyes and, after a second, pulled it away. His eyes shot open, still ablaze with hatred.

"Yugi didn't realise that they attacked him to get to me; he didn't make any mention as to what any of the people who attacked him looked like...but he didn't need to. I knew. So I patched him up and left him with his family to take care of him. I told him that I was going out to get some more bandages. Half an hour after I left him, I was down at the backstreets of town...looking for them."

He smiled wildly. "There was a face off. I won't get into details, but...they...kicked the ever loving crap out of me, to say the least. God knows why they didn't just kill me. Maybe they liked toying with me; I don't know and quite frankly, I don't care. They left me another warning and said that if I didn't come back, Yugi would get hurt again."

He sighed. "I can't imagine what Yugi must have thought when I came home the way I did...I was in a worse shape than he was. There was nothing else I could do...I told him everything. And he was just as understanding as he always was; he didn't hate me for my past at all. He just..."

Ryou could have sworn that Yami looked like he wanted to cry.

He shook his head. "The gang left us alone after that...for a while. We managed to heal ourselves. And then, a month later, Yugi dissappeared."

"They kidnapped him?" Ryou whispered.

"I knew it was them, but I didn't know what it was at the time. I thought they had..." He trailed off. "I was just getting ready to go down with a gun and murder them all when...I got a phone call."

"It was Yugi?" Ryou already knew the answer. He already knew what happened from here.

"It was; Yugi had his mobile phone and as soon as their backs were turned, he called me. I knew from there that he was alive and that they had taken him somewhere...their ultimate revenge."

Yami gave another sigh. "It was all pretty straightforward after that; Yugi called me whenever he could to tell me where he was, but by the time I got there, they had already moved. Over time, they started being more careful; Yugi's calls became less frequent. Eventually they found his phone and threw it away. Then he had to rely on being able to secretly borrow somebody else's when they left it somewhere within reach, and that very rarely occurred."

"You got a call from him telling you he was in my area, and you moved there on the same day," Ryou said matter-of-factly.

Yami hung his head low. "I had no idea where they were keeping him and all Yugi knew was the neighbourhood; they were more careful about how much he knew than they had once been. I needed somewhere more permanent."

"So you found me."

Yami didn't look at Ryou. "I was always going to leave as soon as I found Yugi."

"Right." Ryou had no idea how the words he choked out seemed so level.

"Yugi found out that they had figured out how to track my location using his calls to my mobile. He held back from finding a way to call me. That's why he called our apartment."

It wasn't right; how could Ryou still find it in himself to blush at a time like this?

"I knew he didn't have much time; I didn't bother asking him how he knew the number. I just found out where he was. That was two days ago."

Ryou nodded. He already knew.

"To put it simply, I caught up to them and got Yugi out of there." He closed his eyes, suddenly looking content. "And then, everything was okay. We could just move far, far away and get on with our lives."

He suddenly looked sharply at Ryou. "Then I remembered, and asked Yugi how he knew your number."

Ryou stiffened.

"They had been watching me ever since I arrived." He laughed. "I was an idiot to think for a second that they didn't know where I was. They'd been keeping tabs on the apartment; of course they knew its phone number. It was easy for Yugi to find it out too.

"I had thought...that if I just left, they wouldn't find you. But what Yugi said made me realise that they already had. And they knew that...I cared about you." He looked away for a second. "I was hightailing it back before Yugi had finished speaking. I got there just in time, too."

"The dart..."

Yami nodded. "You walked into your apartment and they were waiting for you. A big street gang out for revenge against me, the deserter. I ran in about five seconds behind you."

"You saved me," Ryou breathed.

"They shot you with a tranquiliser, but..." He gave a half smile. "Let's just say I got you out of there unscathed."

"Thank you." Ryou had no idea what else he could say.

"And now you, me and Yugi are in a roadside motel five hours away from where they shot you. We need to lie low for a little while. It's about six o'clock in the morning."

"Wow."

"I think that's everything."

"Everything?"

"No. There's more," he said suddenly.

Ryou blinked. "What?"

Suddenly, Yami turned away again. "It doesn't matter."

* * *

><p>Phew! Thanks for waiting~! Please review :D :D :D I love you so much *glomphuggles* I'm sorry this chapter was such a let-down after the last one :( Please don't hate me! I promise the next one will be better!<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

Yami had gone to help Yugi pack, leaving Ryou alone with his thoughts. Trembling, Ryou managed to pull himself out of the bed. He realised with a blush that he was clean and wearing his jeans and shirt, instead of the greasy sports' clothes he had been tranquilised in. Either Yami or Yugi must have cleaned him while he was asleep. Ryou didn't know which idea upset him more.

He found his shoes beside the bed and slid his feet into them. Casting a hesitant glance at the door to the room, Ryou finally stopped holding back and burst into tears.

He buried his face in the untidy blankets of the motel bed, staining it with his tears. "Yami..." he sobbed, his words muffled and teary.

Yami had found Yugi. The two of them were safe. And they would have at last been happy, too, if it weren't for Ryou. Ryou kept crying. If it weren't for him, Yami would have been able to be happy again; something he deserved after going through so much for Yugi.

"If it weren't for me..." he whispered. Catching his breath, he let out another sob.

How could he go out there now? Yami and Yugi were in the very next room, and they were expecting Ryou to come out now. Ryou choked back another sob. _Corn flakes, Ryou. Keep thinking of corn flakes._

Ryou's tears kept flowing. Corn flakes were just too normal. Too...Ryou.

Ryou forced himself to sit up. Yami's words kept playing over in his head_. Nobody had ever said anything nice to me until Yugi._ Ryou bit his lip, trying to hold his relentless tears in. _Yugi and I...we just clicked._

Ryou squeezed his eyes shut. _Grin and bear it, Ryou; you need to remember this...to make you understand how worthless you are to him...next to Yugi._

The memories of what Yami had said kept coming in a never ending onslaught. _I was always going to leave as soon as I found Yugi...I had found Yugi and I was staying with him forever. _A tear snuck out from under Ryou's eyelid. _I never wanted to set foot on the outdoor pavement ever again. I just wanted to stay there in that dinky little general store with Yugi for the rest of my life._

_We met over the phone to arrange rent sharing_, Ryou thought sadly. _He didn't rescue me from dropping a box on my toe. There's nothing romantic about meeting over the phone. No love at first sight, nothing. He's in love with Yugi, so just get over it. _

Wiping his tears away, Ryou forced himself back to his feet and made his way to the door.

* * *

><p>Yami had taken a few of Ryou's essentials from his apartment before they left; a change of clothes, a toothbrush, Ryou's blue Snuggie. Ryou felt embarrassed when he was going through the bag Yami had hastily packed and pulled it out for Yugi to see. He stuffed it back into the bag, blushing.<p>

"We need to keep on the road until they give up," Yugi explained, taking Ryou's bag from him and heading towards the car Ryou now knew belonged to Yugi. "It's been months now; they're less...motivated. They've had their fun."

"Their fun?" Ryou repeated sourly. It was a pretty sick idea of fun, to kidnap somebody in the name of pride.

Yugi put Ryou's bag in the back seat. Looking past him, Ryou saw several other bags as well as an assortment of other things he couldn't make out.

Ryou hesitantly looked over his shoulder into the motel room. Yami was still inside. "Yugi?" he asked quietly.

Yugi looked at him brightly. "What is it?"

Ryou had no idea what he had planned to say. "We...um...never got to properly meet," he confessed, laughing shakily.

Yugi laughed too. "We can do it now; my name is Yugi."

Feeling a little better, Ryou shook Yugi's offered hand. "My name is Ryou."

They lapsed into silence.

"When you got out...when Yami rescued you..." Ryou paused. "Was it...did everything go well? I mean, nobody was hurt at all, right?"

Yugi shook his head. "No, nothing like that; just a typical break in, find, break out. Practically no resistance." He smiled. "Don't worry; nobody was hurt at all."

Ryou let himself relax. So Yami hadn't been hurt saving Yugi. That was good. "Has he...rested, since you got out? Yami, I mean."

Yugi bit his lip. "No; he was awake the whole time, waiting for you to get over the tranquiliser." He hesitated.

Ryou sighed. "He needs to; he's hardly slept at all the past few weeks and I don't even know what it was like before then."

Yugi's brow furrowed with concern. "I was afraid that he'd do something like that." He looked away. "He's like that; he'd do anything for somebody else, but...he doesn't know how to take care of himself in the process."

Ryou nodded; he could relate to that.

Yami suddenly appeared before another word was spoken between Yugi and Ryou. Ryou jumped.

"I think everything is packed," Yami said. "We should get going."

Ryou and Yugi nodded their assent and headed back to the car, following Yami.

Ryou stared at his back sadly. _I love you, Yami._

He wiped his eye before a tear formed. He loved Yami. That was something that was never going to change. He had found in Yami his other half; mature, mysterious and willing to do anything to help others. He was nothing like Ryou; they were polar opposites. And as such, fit together like puzzle pieces. For the first time in his life, Ryou Bakura was in love.

He cast a sideways glance at Yugi, who was running ahead to walk with Yami, who grasped his hand. Ryou hung back. From behind, Yami and Yugi were one and the same. A complete stranger could have known that they were meant to be together.

Ryou kept walking. _Are you going to take me home and leave me there as soon as this is over, Yami? _he wondered. _Is the next few days the last you and I will ever share?_

He sighed. It wasn't his concern anymore; he wanted Yami to be happy, and if Yugi made him happy, then...

Ryou stared at the ground. A tear rolled down his cheek and splattered the ground. If Yugi made Yami happy, then Ryou wanted them to be together. He couldn't have lived with himself if Yami stayed with him only to see him as a burden.

They had reached the car again. Ryou waited for Yugi to jump in the driver's side, only to realise with alarm that it was Yami who took this door. Out of pure instinct, Ryou sprang forward and pulled Yami's hand away from the handle. "What are you doing?" he asked, his voice high-pitched with worry.

Yami looked puzzled. "Driving."

"This is Yugi's car," Ryou said, suddenly feeling incredibly stupid. That wasn't what he was worried about.

Yugi looked at Ryou. "It's okay – I don't mind if he drives; he usually does."

Ryou crossed his arms, barring the way for Yami to get to the door. "You can't drive; you haven't slept in two days!"

Yami suddenly looked confused, as though this was a fact that had only just occurred to him. It was true, of course; the last time he had slept had been when Ryou had seen him on the couch, as he said, two days ago."

Ryou pressed on. "It's just not...sound. You're going to fall asleep at the wheel and kill somebody!"

Yami looked affronted. "Ryou, don't worry; I'll be fine."

"To hell with fine!" Ryou pouted. "As- as..." He racked his brain for a better argument. "As somebody who knows a thing or two about cars, I..." He tried to use lots of big words. "I must express my deepest concern for the wellbeing of this vehicle – which I have, in the past, gotten back on its feet and therefore see as my responsibility. And, I also happen to know that it is possible for the human brain to take short bursts of sleep, particularly while in the lower state of alertness brought upon by fatigue and lack of rest. These micro-sleeps can last up to thirty seconds and occur without you even realising it." Ryou could feel his argument building. "This can be fine when the driver has them on a normal stretch of straight road, but if they hit a turn, or the car in front brakes, then boom!" Ryou clapped his hands. "You crash! You can also be prone to drift out of the lane during a micro-sleep, and if this happens, boom again!" Another clap followed the first. "Therefore, it is my responsibility as...as a responsible person, to prevent a driver who could potentially bring about the death of himself, his passengers and the other occupants of the road, from doing so." Ryou sucked in some air gratefully.

Yami just stared at him.

Ryou grinned. "Pwned."

Yugi cleared his throat. "I think he's right, Yami..."

Ryou jumped. He had completely forgotten that Yugi was there.

Yami laughed and conceded defeat. "Okay, you win; you can drive."

Ryou blinked. "M- me? What about Yugi?"

Yugi scuffled his feet. "I don't have my license; it wasn't with me when..." He gulped. Yami quickly took his hand in a comforting gesture. Ryou had to struggle to act normal.

"Oh, okay, then. I think I have mine." He reached into his jeans pocked and pulled out his wallet. His license was indeed there.

Ryou didn't drive much, having no car of his own. But he was still a, excellent driver; he wouldn't have forgiven himself otherwise, what with his obsession with cars.

Smugly, he opened the car door and sat behind the wheel. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I love the smell of cars."

From behind him, he heard Yami speak. "They have a smell?"

Ryou jumped and turned around to see Yami getting in the back seat.

"What do you think you're doing?" he barked, frustrated.

Yami frowned. "What?"

Ryou indicated the passenger seat.

"Yugi's sitting there."

Ryou looked out the passenger side window, where Yugi was about to open the door.

"No he's not; that's the only seat that reclines. You're sleeping there." Ryou scowled. "Do I have to think of everything?"

Yami looked a little baffled for a second. But then, suddenly, he smiled. "Okay...you win." He got out of the car and walked around to the passenger door. Yugi got in behind Ryou.

At last satisfied, Ryou turned the key in the ignition, grateful that, at least a little, he had been able to help Yami. Help him to, as Yugi had put it, take care of himself. Ryou gave a contented smile as he pulled away from the motel. At least for now, it was enough to make him happy.


	10. Chapter 10

At the moment, it seems as though my only mission with this story is to make you fine people hate Yami XD And...I don't think this chapter will exactly rectify this :/ please don't hate me :'( I promise, it's not like that at all :'D

Oh, and~! And~! Random side note here: I had my sixteenth birthday party two days ago :D (The party, not the actual day) It was SUPER SPECIAL AWESOME~! Sorry, I just had to tell somebody that XD

~IA

* * *

><p>There was no specific destination; the best advice Yugi had to offer Ryou was, 'away'. So away they went.<p>

They had been travelling for at least an hour when Ryou noticed something very unusual. Frowning, he tapped the temperature gauge as though the reading was faulty. Predictably, it wasn't.

Ryou didn't wait around. He pulled onto the side of the road.

Yugi looked up from the back seat. "What's the problem?"

Ryou was already jumping out of the car. "The engine looks like it's overheating. That's..." He tried to find a more effective word. Failing to do so, he just finished with, "...bad."

He ran around to the bonnet and pulled the hood up. After a moment, Yugi joined him. Ryou leaned forward over the hot engine, tentatively trying to find the source of the problem. His hair kept falling into his face and he brushed it away with frustration, wishing he had some kind of bandana or headband.

As soon as he figured out where to look, sourcing the problem was easy. "There's no cooling fluid," Ryou said matter-of-factly, straightening up again.

Yugi gasped and looked inside the engine too. He obviously had no idea what he was looking for, though, because he straightened up too a second later. "That's bad, right?"

Ryou grimaced, nodding. "Without the cooling fluid, the engine will overheat and..." He paused. "Die."

Yugi frowned. "So, we just...ran out? Can something like that happen?"

Ryou wasn't satisfied with simply knowing the problem. "I haven't seen it before, but I'm not a proper mechanic and I've never owned a car. I wonder..." His brow still knitted, Ryou leaned inside the engine again, trying to pinpoint the exact problem. The car had been serviced only a week ago, after all...

His breath caught when he found it. A very deliberate hole had appeared in one of the pipes that circulated the cooling fluid. Small, but present and clearly of human origins. A little of the precious cooling fluid still dripped from it, sizzling into minute jets of steam as soon as it contacted the hotter parts of the engine. Ryou gulped. This hole hadn't been there a week ago; it was new.

"Did you find the problem?" Yugi's voice was thick with worry. Ryou could understand; not only was it his car, but it was also their only method of transport.

The fact was very simple, though; Ryou wasn't going to drive a car with no coolant, and they had no spare parts to replace the leaking pipe. Ryou's hand started to tremble. How could he possibly tell this to Yugi? Yugi, who had just escaped from several months as the kidnapped prisoner of an angry street gang. It wasn't difficult to see who the culprits of the hole were, and since the engine could only have been vandalised on the previous night...they must have been close.

Ryou squeezed his eyes shut. What did they still have against Yami? Why couldn't they just give up?

"Ah..." Ryou tried to act casual. "Um, not yet; just let me have another look. If there's no leak then we should be able to use water to replace the missing coolant and be on our way in no time."

The lie flowed swiftly and unnaturally through Ryou's lips. What good would lying do? It wasn't going to change anything; it would simply grant Yugi a few more minutes of blissful ignorance.

Yugi bit his lip and hung back. "Well, okay...is there anything I can do?"

Ryou shook his head, acting as easygoing as he could, as though the knowledge that their car could no longer run didn't matter to him. "Nope; just wait in the car."

Yugi hesitated and then obeyed. Through the windshield, Ryou saw him rouse Yami and explain to him what was going on.

Ryou's heart sank. He didn't want to lie to Yami, too.

But what else could he do? Ryou pretended to be looking in the engine, his thoughts elsewhere. How could he possibly tell Yami that they were stuck there while the very people they had been running from were somewhere nearby?

A tear slid down Ryou's cheek, sizzling into oblivion as soon as it hit the hot engine. If Yami came out and asked about the engine, Ryou would have to tell another lie, to the man he loved. He opened his eyes again. If Yami never saw the hole, he would probably think Ryou had overlooked something when he was fixing the car a week ago. Then he would think that Ryou had been careless and it was going to cost them their lives. He would blame Ryou for everything and he and Yugi would hitchhike away and leave him there.

Ryou gulped. He was being overdramatic; even he couldn't imagine Yami jumping to such extreme conclusions. Yami never jumped to conclusions.

Through his tears, Ryou smiled to himself. He was _all_ conclusions; he could drop a milk bottle and, mere seconds later, have panicked and arrived at the conclusion that he was about to be evicted from his apartment and be forced to live jobless on the streets. He was extremely lucky that his predictions rarely came true.

He sighed again, his thoughts returning to the matter at hand. He only wished that the same principle applied here. But this prediction was irrefutable; all the principles in the world weren't going to replace the cooling system.

"Ryou?"

Ryou jumped upon hearing his name, and looked away a moment later when he realised it was Yami who had spoken.

Yami was standing to one side of the bonnet, his hand on the hood of the car, peering at the engine. "What's the problem? Yugi said-"

"Cooling fluid. I know." Ryou couldn't bear to look at him.

Yami came around to the front of the bonnet, next to Ryou. Ryou's heart gave another painful flutter as they brushed hands for a second. He moved away slightly.

"Did you find what's wrong?" Yami asked, his voice even and almost emotionless.

Ryou was about to simply shake his head, when the truth tumbled from his mouth as though it hadn't seen daylight in years, completely contrary to what Ryou had already decided to say. "Oh, Yami! There's no way of getting it to run!" he practically wailed. "It must have happened last night; somebody drilled a hole in the cooling pipes and now if we use the car it'll overheat."

Yami stared at him in utter disbelief. "_What_?" He bent to examine the hole Ryou was pointing to.

Ryou couldn't believe himself. What had he just done? Now Yami was going to hate him for having lied to Yugi.

Yami straightened up, his face pale. "Have you told Yugi?"

Ryou shook his head, trying to keep himself together. "No...I didn't want him to worry...after everything he went through."

Yami nodded slowly. "That's what I would have done."

_B-bmp b-bmp, b-bmp b-bmp. _

Ryou couldn't believe how pathetic he felt. He was practically falling apart at the seams. "What are we going to do?" he whispered, staring into the engine dejectedly.

Yami was no longer looking at the car. His gaze had fallen onto Ryou.

Ryou suddenly realised that this was the first time they had been alone together since Yami had told him about his past. Yugi was only feet away, shielded from view by the car's raised hood, but Ryou felt eerily alone. He knew right then and there that he didn't want to be alone with Yami; it was too much for his frayed nerves to cope with at the moment.

"I actually wanted to talk to you, Ryou."

Ryou turned so that his body was facing Yami, but his head still hung low and he stared at the ground, not knowing what to say.

"Listen, Ryou," Yami began, "I just wanted to say...how sorry I am."

Ryou looked up hesitantly.

Yami was looking straight at him. "It's my fault that this is happening to you; you never did anything, and yet...here you are, stuck in the middle of nowhere with no transport and a gang of angry gangsters trying to kill me and anyone who's with me."

Ryou blinked. "You don't need to be sorry, Yami; it's not your fault. I don't blame you for anything."

Yami suddenly scowled. "Ryou, I'm not asking this of you, I'm begging you; don't forgive me because you feel sorry for me. For the sake of my sanity, don't forgive me."

"But it's not because-"

"I'm serious, Ryou; I-"

"Will you let me finish?" Ryou interrupted sourly.

Yami stopped, surprised by Ryou's sudden outburst.

"Okay, so...you listen to me, okay?" Ryou said, trying to sound forceful. "I'm not forgiving you because I feel sorry for you. I don't forgive anybody because I feel sorry for them." He stood taller. "I'm not a pushover, Yami; I'm me! I'm Ryou Bakura, and the only person who decides how I feel is Ryou Bakura! Not you, or anybody! My feelings are mine and mine alone, and I forgive who _I_ feel deserves forgiving, not who _you_ feel! So this is how I feel; you haven't done anything to deserve a grudge from me, and if I want to forgive you, I can damn well forgive you. It's my choice, and to hell with your sanity!"

He fell into silence. That hadn't come out as he had planned it to; it was how he felt, in that...he forgave Yami because he felt that Yami didn't deserve his anger. But the part about how he, Ryou, was the only one who decided his own emotions. After all, there was no way he would have chosen to feel the way he did about Yami. Ryou had been caught in the snare of love and was powerless within its grasp.

Yami looked surprised by Ryou's words. After a second, his scowl dissappeared to be replaced with a winning smile. Ryou looked down again. "So, yeah. I forgive you."

Yami looked like he was about to say something else. Ryou looked up again sharply. "And if you don't like it then it's your problem."

Yami actually laughed and leaned against the hood of the car, as did Ryou. "Thank you," he said simply.

Part of Ryou wanted Yami to leave. To let Ryou be alone with his turmoil. To take Yugi away so that Ryou wouldn't have to feel his heart break every time he saw them together.

And yet, another part of him just wanted Yami to kiss him again, like he had done that last time...in their apartment. Ryou closed his eyes at the memory, remembering every second, the heat, the fire, the feel of Yami's lips on his...

Ryou's eyes shot open. He couldn't remember that. He had to stay cool. And yet, the memory of those few perfect minutes haunted Ryou like a ghost. He couldn't push them away no matter how hard he tried. "Yami," he choked out.

"Ryou." Yami said Ryou's name as though it were an appropriate answer.

Ryou took a deep breath. "Yami," he repeated more softly, "I'm sorry...but I need to know." He closed his eyes. "Before you left...you were..." He had no way of putting his thoughts into words. "Why?" he asked finally, hoping Yami wouldn't make him elaborate on his question.

It was Yami's turn to look away. Ryou held his breath. If he was honest with himself, he didn't truly wish to know answer. It was just that...if he didn't ask, he would never be able to find peace with the memories that brief moment had left him with.

"Because I..." Yami closed his eyes as though he hated the words leaving his mouth with every fibre of his being. His hands clenched into fists. He took a deep breath. "I thought Yugi was dead." His eyes opened. "I would never, never, never, have given up on finding him, but...I truly had lost all hope that he was still alive, and you...reminded me of him."

Ryou gave a slow nod as though this statement didn't bother him. "I was a rebound."

"Yes," Yami said with sudden harshness. "So don't ask me about this again. There was never anything between us, Ryou." He gritted his teeth. "There was never a choice for me to make between you, and if there was, I would have chosen Yugi."

Ryou gulped, somehow holding his head together. "Okay..." His jaw trembled. "I just wanted to know, that's all."

Suddenly, Yami pushed himself off the bonnet of the car. He abruptly changed the subject. "I'll tell Yugi that you only found the hole just now. He has to know eventually."

"Thank you," Ryou whispered.

Yami have a short, curt nod and dissappeared around the bonnet.

The tears that flowed from Ryou's eyes would have been enough to cool the car down to nothing. Ryou could literally have sat on the bonnet cooling the engine while Yami or Yugi drove, had such an arrangement been viable.

Until then, his subconscious had been harbouring some secret, forbidden hope that Yami his kissed him that time because somehow, deep down, he felt the same about Ryou as Ryou did of him. That hope had been snuffed out with a painful sizzle more suddenly than the tears that fell from Ryou's eyes onto the car's overheated engine. It was so blaringly obvious now; Yami had been imagining that Ryou was Yugi, only to discover that the real Yugi was still alive and he didn't need Ryou any more.

Ryou slumped down with his back against the front of the car. How could he still find it in himself to care about Yami now? Any rational human being would hate him for what he had done. For how he had broken his heart so thoughtlessly. Not Ryou; since when had Ryou been a rational human being?

He sighed as he answered this question. He had always been a rational human being. But when it came to Yami...there was nothing rational about Yami. Yami was measured on an entirely different scale of thought.

Ryou wiped his eyes. He couldn't believe he was still crying at a time like this. They had more pressing matters to worry about. Straightening himself up, he closed the hood of the car.

* * *

><p>The road was bleak and empty. Few cars passed them and those that did didn't stop for hitchhikers.<p>

Each of them had attempted calling for help with their respective phones. This proved more difficult than it at first seemed, as the only reception a mobile could receive from their location were short, weak bursts of it that dissappeared after a mere few seconds.

The atmosphere was tense; Ryou could feel it. Yugi's fear was growing by the minute and Yami was obviously filled with dread.

Ryou himself had no idea what he felt. He knew that they were sitting ducks if Yami's former gang were still trying to get back at him for quitting, but somehow...this didn't unsettle him. He felt completely safe with Yami.

Ryou was sitting against the back wheel of the car, with Yami and Yugi standing a few feet away. Hesitantly, Ryou looked up at Yami.

Yami hadn't spoken to Ryou since their conversation behind the bonnet, at least an hour ago. And if they had, Ryou didn't know what would have happened. After all, enough had been said, hadn't it?

Ryou looked away again, blushing. He shook his head to clear it.

This was his fault. He was supposed to be the mechanic; if he had noticed the engine heating sooner, they wouldn't be stuck here in the middle of nowhere. Yami and Yugi were just too polite to say so.

Ryou drummed his fingers against the grass on the side of the road as another vehicle sped past, ignoring their plight. He sighed sadly. Surely, at least one person out there would be kind enough to help them. They just had to wait for that person to come by. Ryou rested his chin on his knees, wishing that somebody would speak to kill the stifling silence.

Ryou was waiting for a miracle by the time somebody finally stopped for them; a friendly looking couple in their mid-forties. After Yugi explained to them the situation with the cooling system, they were both more than happy to let them accompany them to the next town – the town the three of them had stayed in the previous night – where they could call for a tow truck. Eternally grateful, Ryou got into the backseat, with himself and Yugi on either side of Yami.

Being so close to him, Ryou had no idea how he kept his breath steady. Maybe he didn't. He was certain that his heart was beating so fast that their saviours could hear it from their places in the front. He was glad that they both started striking conversation, saving Ryou from having to think about his proximity with Yami.

They had been on the road for nearly forty-five minutes when something very unexpected happened. Yami received a text message.

It must have been received during one of the momentary bursts of mobile coverage which then faded almost instantly, because by the time Ryou had hurriedly leaned over to see, there were no bars of signal in the corner of the screen.

But he wasn't paying any attention to the signal. It was the message that snared his fascination. Ryou gulped, reading it.

**We settle this tonight. Last chance to come back or quite simply you'll wish you had. You know the place.**

There was complete and total silence.

Ryou's neck was stiff and refused to obey him. It took him a full minute to finally be able to turn and look at Yami.

Ryou had never seen his face look so...out of context. Ryou could have understood something thunderous or even worried. The look of eerie calm that settled upon Yami's features was somehow more terrifying.

The man driving the car looked at them through his rear-vision mirror. "Is there a problem?"

Ryou, Yami and Yugi all looked up with surprise, having forgotten who they were in the car with. "N- no," Yugi said, innocently but shakily. "It's just an automated message from the service provider."

Believing this, the man nodded, satisfied. Before he could say anything to them, his wife made some comment to him about jobs. They both started off a separate conversation to their passengers.

Ryou turned his gaze back to Yami. "You're not going, are you?" he whispered. _Please don't go, Yami. I don't care if you love Yugi; you can't leave me like this. _

Yami looked at him for a second. "They aren't kidding themselves; they don't want me back and they'd beat me senseless for suggesting it." He gave a dry smile. "They've been trying to get back at me for much too long; nothing matters to them anymore except killing me."

Ryou gasped. "They wouldn't actually-"

"They would, Ryou; that's how it works on the streets. It's a dog eat dog world." Yami's voice was simple and matter-of-fact.

"Then you-"

"Then you can't go!" Yugi exclaimed at the same time as Ryou. "There are nine of them. There's no way you alone could possibly win..."

Yami smiled at Yugi and gently squeezed his hand. "You don't need to worry; I'm not so stupid as to walk into their trap." He sighed calmly. "I've spent all these months trying to find them, I think it's time I did the human thing and ran away."

Ryou bit his lip. It wasn't like Yami to run away. But...if Yami wasn't going to throw himself at the mercy of his former gang, he didn't care. As long as Yami didn't get himself killed. Nothing else mattered if Yami was safe.

"I-" Ryou began.

"Listen to this," the woman in the front of the car loudly said all of a sudden, "Would you agree that holding somebody's job should never come before workplace health and safety or that it can change circumstantially? Because imagine if..."

Ryou was reluctant to be jerked back into the instantaneous reality by her words, but he was nonetheless. He formed some kind of mumbled response before turning his attention out the window at the passing scenery.

_I want to go home, Yami,_ he thought sadly. _Why can't we just go home and forget all of this?_

_Because life isn't always playing soccer and fixing cars_, his mind answered silently. _We are in danger. If Yami encounters his old gang, he really could die._

Ryou clenched his fist. _There's no way that's ever going to happen._

* * *

><p>The engine will overheat and...die. Just like my computer almost did. When I came back to edit this after my little incident with flying machinery, I read that line and thought it was funny as hell~! Lol XD (The full story is on my profile, if you're interested, but if not then...nyeh XD)<p>

I hate writing exclamations mid-story. It feels so unnatural to do an exclamation mark without a squiggly line before it~! Lol :D I spend way to much time on this site ;D I've even started doing my exclamation marks like that on paper~! I don't even know how I got into this habit...hm...oh, well :D~! It really is a deeply satisfying thing, you know~! I recommend trying it sometime. In fact, there is a very lovely little button just below this story, which opens a new window in which you can type a few little '~!'s, or even a few little words. Perhaps you would consider clicking this button in order to test out your new little skill along with a few little words and then clicking the button at the bottom of this new little window *glamorous eye twinkle* The button at the bottom of this new little window allows you to show off all your '~!'s to the world, so that everybody will know how good at them you are~! *glomp* I love you so much~!

This story is (very regrettably :( ) drawing to its conclusion. This next chapter will very likely be the last one, if not the second last. Wahhhh~! Sob! Somebody please hug me~! I'm having too much fun with this story for it to end *cries* Anyway, rather than wasting everybody's time with my annoying author's notes, I shall hop to it and finish this next chapter~! I hope you guys like it *huggles*

~IA


	11. Chapter 11

They arrived back in town at almost ten o'clock. After thanking their drivers, Ryou, Yugi and Yami called for a tow truck to bring back their car. It was nearly half-past twelve when the vehicle was finally taken to a proper mechanic for repairs.

They lingered outside the workshop, Yugi and Yami standing together, hands entwined, Ryou a few feet away, looking anywhere but at them. He had never felt like such a third wheel.

"There isn't much to do now except wait," Ryou murmured after a minute of silence. "When the car is fixed we can keep going."

_And then what?_ he wanted to ask. _These guys are insane; there's no way they'll just give up. We would have to go somewhere they couldn't follow. _Ryou sighed. Two weeks ago, he had been worried about rent.

Yami hadn't said much since he received the text. He had just been staring intensely into space, deep in thought.

Ryou knew him well enough to know that he didn't want to just wait around. He wanted to confront his former gang and finish everything. Ryou's eyes shadowed when he finished this thought. _For what they did to Yugi._

Ryou was worried about Yami. There was still so much he didn't know about him, and yet…a cold feeling of dread washed over him every time he thought of him facing off against his rivals…

_He said he wouldn't go tonight,_ Ryou assured himself. _He wouldn't lie, especially not to Yugi. I don't care who he's staying for, just so long as he stays. _

Yugi nodded in answer to Ryou's earlier statement. "We should go back to the motel and see if we can get a room again. We're sitting ducks out here."

Ryou didn't move. "You two can go; I'm going to stay here and see if I can fix the car."

Yami suddenly looked up. "No you're not; we're staying together."

_We're staying together._ Even now, these words had power over Ryou's frazzled heart. _Stop thinking like that. That isn't what he meant. _Ryou tried to stand taller. "It's not me they're after; why bother with me when you two are so close by? I need to stay here; the sooner we fix the car, the sooner we leave. And…" He gave a weary smile. "I don't think I could handle just sitting around and doing nothing. Don't worry," he threw in hastily. "There are lots of other people around here; I'll be fine. Besides, it would be better if I stayed with the car to make sure it doesn't get vandalised again. Somehow."

Yami looked like he was going to protest, but Yugi suddenly pulled at his arm, grabbing his attention. "Let him stay, Yami. I…need to talk to you about something, anyway."

"Then you can talk about it later. I'm not letting either of you out of my sight," Yami said firmly to his tiny lover.

Yugi looked determined. "Yami…please. It's important." He hesitated. "I haven't had a chance to talk to you about it properly. We haven't been alone together."

Ryou wished he wasn't there. He just wanted to dissappear.

Yami didn't look swayed at first, but upon Yugi's last statement, his face softened. Ryou looked away. It still hurt him to see Yami look at Yugi that way.

Yami's head suddenly snapped up to look at Ryou. "Listen very carefully, Ryou; you will call us when you're finished, and at five o'clock, we're taking you back to the motel whether you're finished or not."

Ryou nodded, relieved. "Thank you, Yami."

Yugi looked impatient. Waving a brief goodbye to Ryou, he clung to Yami's hand and headed in the direction of the motel. Ryou turned away before he had a chance to see Yami's arm curl around Yugi's waist.

This was going to be the first proper time they were truly alone together since just after Yami had rescued Yugi, the previous day. And even then, they must have been zooming away in Yugi's car, trying to get away. Far too in the moment to properly appreciate each other's company. Really, this was the first time they were alone together in months.

Ryou closed his eyes, wiping away a tear. It shouldn't matter to him what Yugi wanted to 'talk' about. But it did.

"I'm sorry, Yami," he cried quietly, resting his forhead against the brick wall. "I'm sorry for caring. I'm sorry for getting in the way. I'm sorry I fell in love with you. I'm sorry for everything."

He opened his eyes again. He was here to fix the car, not to think about…

Ryou made for the door of the mechanic. He badly needed something else to think about.

* * *

><p>The fact that the car had been serviced over a week ago meant that there was little to do. Replacing the pipes and the cooling fluid would be a relatively simple matter, as long as they were able to pay for the spare parts.<p>

At first, the mechanic was reluctant to let Ryou touch anything. This amused Ryou; the mechanic at home was so used to him wandering in at random intervals and fiddling about with the engines that he barely even noticed it now. However, after Ryou indicated to this one, perfectly, each part of the engine and their functions, as well as reaching under anotehr one of the vehicles there to be repaired, attatching a loose cord and fixing a problem the mechanic had been trying to solve for several hours, he was grateful for the extra set of hands.

The cooling system was not difficult for Ryou to fix once he had all of the necessary tools and parts. He even found a clean strip of old cloth to use as a headband while he worked. By the time he sat back to admire a job well done, it was only two o'clock.

Ryou was grateful to be away from Yami and Yugi. It was hard enough to be around Yami alone; Yugi's presence was almost stifling. Ryou regretted finishing early; if he was honest with himself, he didn't want to go back. They deserved some time alone, after all.

Ryou stayed in the garage for the next few hours, assisting in the repairs of the other cars. Anything to keep his mind occupied. A few times, his thoughts strayed back to Yami, only to be silenced immediately.

Sighing, Ryou scrawled into a chair beside the work shop, utterly exhausted. He pulled the cloth from his head, imagining a ring of pure white hair where the headband had been, amidst a head of sticky, oily black.

He saved Yami and Yugi the trouble of coming to find him by getting in the car and driving it back to the motel at half past four. Practically dead on his feet, he trudged over to the door and knocked, his eyes half closed.

Yugi answered the door. Peering past him, Ryou saw Yami sitting stiff and cross-legged on one of the beds, facing the wall. He made no move when Ryou entered.

It was difficult for Ryou to read the expression on Yugi's face; it was a mixture of many emotions. There was a look of elation and joy, overshadowed slightly by sadness and self-pity. Above it all, however, was unparalleled relief.

None of this mattered to Ryou; he was still intent on Yami. "What happened?" he whispered, looking at Yami's tense figure.

Yugi gave a knowing smile. "Nothing."

Ryou looked at him, confused. Just what had happened while he was in the garage?

He decided almost instantly that he didn't wish to know the answer to this. Feeling awkward, he closed the door behind him. He had no idea what to say; what _was_ there to say? "We fixed the cooling system," Ryou went on, louder so that Yami could hear him. "The car should be fine now."

"I can't thank you enough, Ryou," Yugi said with surprising sincerity.

Ryou wished that he would just stop talking. He just wanted to be back in the garage, thinking about something other than Yami. Yami…

Ryou shook his head to clear it. "Y- you're welcome, Yugi. I, um, I have to go and freshen up," he said hastily, holding up his hands to show all the engine oil on him. Hurriedly, Ryou made his way into the bathroom, grateful to be able to escape them.

As soon as the door was closed, Ryou sank to the floor, unable to hold his tears in any longer. It just wasn't fair! His whole body trembling, Ryou curled himself into a tiny ball, burying his face in his knees. He hadn't meant to fall in love. He hadn't meant to be here. All he had ever wanted was to pay less rent. Was that so much to ask?

This shouldn't have happened. He was supposed to put an ad in the weekend paper. There was supposed to be a lot of phone calls back and forth between various individuals. He was supposed to settle with the best of a bad bunch and put up with the smell of cigarette smoke and loud music for the rest of his life, like everyone else who had a room mate. Yami was never supposed to come into his life.

Teary-eyed, Ryou looked up again and stared at the opposite wall. But, no matter how much it shouldn't have happened, it had. And Ryou wouldn't have stopped it from happening for all the flavoured milk in the world.

* * *

><p>It was eight o'clock.<p>

After deciding to wait until morning to leave, nobody had said much since Ryou got back with the car. Yami was still staring at the wall, practically motionless. He had lain down on his side, his wild fan of hair pressed partially under the weight of his head. Ryou still had no idea what could have induced him to be so…antisocial.

There were a few cans of food that Yami had taken with them. Ryou and Yugi were sitting across from one another at the table, eating these cold out of the tin. Still, nobody dared break the icy silence. Ryou was tense; he couldn't even taste the food he was eating, despite being so hungry that his share was gone within minutes.

His usual routine of getting ready for bed seemed so unnatural here; brushing his teeth, combing his hair...if he was honest with himself, he knew that neither Yugi nor Yami even noticed, but he still felt a prickly feeling on the back of his neck as though they were watching him.

The brief minute when Yugi went to brush his teeth was the tensest Ryou had ever experienced. It passed uneventfully, until Yami suddenly rolled onto his back, staring at the ceiling.

Ryou wished he would say something. He wanted to hear Yami's voice. He was too absent, sitting quietly in his corner.

Ryou twiddled his fingers. It had never bothered him until now; after all, wasn't he used to seeing Yami sitting quietly in a corner, scouring the internet for any kind of clue as to Yugi's whereabouts in his relentless search for his captors?

Finally, he found the courage to stand up. "I'm going to bed."

Yami turned his head slightly and looked at him, his expression unreadable. "...Goodnight, Ryou."

"Goodnight..." Ryou hesitated. "Yami?"

Yami lifted his head. "What is it, Ryou?"

Suddenly, Ryou wished he hadn't spoken. "Will you still be here in the morning?" he asked abruptly.

Yami seemed surprised. Then he simply resumed looking at the ceiling. "'Course I will..." He looked like he was going to say more, but he held his tongue. He closed his eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Unsure what else to say, Ryou just dipped his head and dissappeared into the motel's separate bedroom; the one he had woken up in only that morning.

He was grateful that their voices didn't carry. Whatever Yami and Yugi were talking about in the next room, Ryou was spared from hearing it. He lay in his bed, staring into the black nothingness.

"I love you, Yami," he whispered.

No answer came from the darkness.

Ryou gave a soft chuckle. "What am I talking about? It's pointless. I just...wanted to say it out loud."

When no answer continued to come, Ryou kept on whispering into the emptiness. "At first, I was sad that you already had Yugi, but now I'm not." He closed his eyes as though that made some kind of difference. "I don't care about that at all. All I want is for..." He trailed off. "For you to be happy, and...for you to not die. Those people out there; they want to kill you. They've been waiting to get back at you for so long that everything has escalated way out of proportion in their head. Nothing else matters to them now."

He reached over the side of the bed and felt around in the darkness until his hand found his bag. Unzipping it, he pulled out his blue Snuggie and cuddled it to himself like some kind of makeshift teddy bear. "So whatever else happens, please, please, _please_ stay away from them tonight. Do it for Yugi, I don't care. Just stay...I'm begging you, Yami."

Still holding his blanket – the one familiar thing in this alien place – Ryou finally managed to drift into a troubled sleep.

* * *

><p>Ryou didn't know how long he slept for.<p>

He didn't feel tired at all when he jerked himself awake, although that was to be expected; he hadn't been sleeping heavily. The room was still dark; no light crawled into the room to light it dimly from under the curtains. Whatever time it may have been, it was night.

Ryou sighed. He had been a fool for thinking he would have been able to sleep with so much on his mind. Yami, Yugi, the gang...himself.

If he had been at home, he would have plodded into the kitchen for a glass of milk and some T.V. to take his mind off things. Here, it was obviously not an option.

Still, he couldn't envision sleeping, the way he felt now. He pushed back his blankets and crept silently out of the room.

The motel room consisted of a small kitchen and table connected to a double

bedroom, in which Yami and Yugi slept. From this, two separate doors led to the bathroom and Ryou's smaller room.

Ryou's door opened into the kitchen and he quietly made his way to the table, sitting down. He rested his head on the surface, staring through the nearby window's curtain at the silhouette of the moon.

There was so much about the world that he had never known until he met Yami. And now, all he knew was how much he didn't know. It was a harsh reality.

Suddenly, he became aware that he was not the only person awake in the room. Ryou gulped, looking over at the source of the stir. It was too dark to see much, but he thought he could make out somebody sitting with his back against the wall, beside the bed in the adjoining room.

For a second, the wild spiky hair brought Ryou to the conclusion that it was Yami. Then suddenly the person turned his head towards Ryou, and through the darkness, he recognised Yugi.

"You're awake?"

Yugi hadn't bothered lowering his voice, and the sudden noise made Ryou jump slightly. Without waiting for an answer, Yugi jumped to his feet and hit the light switch.

The sudden brightness had the same effect on Ryou as it had had that morning. He closed his eyes, trying to block it out. What was Yugi doing? Wasn't Yami still sleeping? "Ugh…what?"

Carefully, Ryou's eyes flitted open. Confused, he looked about the room.

Yugi was standing several feet away, beside the light switch. "I guess so."

Ryou was confused. Why was Yugi being so noisy and-

The realisation hit him a second later. His heart going into overdrive, Ryou's eyes fell upon the bed.

Yami was gone.

Suddenly, Ryou wasn't standing in a motel room. Ryou wasn't standing anywhere; he was spinning out of control in a whirlpool of dizziness. Yami…was gone. He had left. But he had promised not to go! Yami was gone. Yami was in danger. He was going to die. No! _No!_

"Where is Yami?" Ryou gasped. "What happened?"

Yugi didn't move. "He left."

"I can see that!" Ryou didn't know how it happened; suddenly he was holding Yugi by the shoulders and shaking him. "Where did he go? How? When? Tell me!"

Yugi didn't even flinch. "He left hours ago."

"And you just let him leave?" Ryou literally wailed.

"He made me promise not to-"

"He's going to die!" Ryou yelled feverishly. "How could you just be standing here?"

"Because I gave him my word that I wouldn't follow him!" Yugi shot back with equal force.

"To hell with your word!" Ryou screeched. "We're human beings! How could you have let him go?"

"I-"

Ryou wasn't listening. He had flown into immediate panic. "Do you know where he went?" He didn't recognise his own voice. The inhuman cry that sprang from his lips couldn't possibly have been his own.

"No. He didn't tell me and the text said-"

"I know what the text said!" Trying to think rationally, Ryou released Yugi. "It doesn't matter; I'm going to find him."

And then, without waiting for another word, Ryou was sprinting out the door, still barefoot and wearing his purple polka-dot pyjamas.

Yugi watched him go with a look of undisguised sadness. Then a soft smile crossed him face. He sighed.

* * *

><p>Ryou didn't need to second guess what Yami had been thinking. He wanted to settle it, to avenge Yugi and to make it so that neither of them would have to spend their lives looking over their shoulders.<p>

It had never been his intention to stay behind. He had known that Ryou wouldn't have let him go. So he had lied.

Yugi must have seen him leave and tried to stop him, only for Yami to somehow convince him not to. Ryou couldn't believe it; Yugi was supposed to be in love with Yami! How could he have been willing to let him die – for anything? He knew as well as Ryou did the cost of Yami's leaving, of his 'settling'.

_He left hours ago_. That was what Yugi had said. Ryou gulped as he ran from the motel. For all he knew, he was too late.

In a frazzled panic, Ryou stopped running. He had absolutely no idea where Yami had gone, and he didn't even have the car.

_You know the place_. Where could Yami have gone where he 'knew the place'? It sounded like somewhere significant to the gang while Yami had still been a member. But where? Some kind of back street alleyway? Ryou had absolutely no idea how those people thought. Not to mention the fact that they were in a small road town with no major connections to anything.

Did that mean that there was some kind of generic place where any 'gangster' would think to go? Ryou hit himself in the forehead. "Think! If I were a gangster, where would I go?"

What did gangs even do? Yami had said that his did…causing trouble. Graffiti and shoplifting. Stuff like that. Where would be a good base camp for that kind of gang?

Somewhere rarely visited by the public and authorities, but large and open enough for several people to exist without being cramped. That especially made sense; if Yami's gang was planning…some kind of showdown, they would need somewhere open and private.

Ryou gulped, wishing he could think more rationally. "Hurry up! Think!" he wailed.

Somewhere open and private. Something that would be present in nearly all cities and towns. Something like…

A graveyard.

It was as good a guess as any, and Ryou didn't have time to think of anything else. He was off again. He literally slammed into the glass door of the motel reception but was too preoccupied to even notice the pain in his nose. Grateful that it was open 24 hours, he pushed the door open and stepped inside, startling the receptionist. A bell tinkled above the door.

"I need a map!" he panted. "Right now. Where is the town graveyard?"

She looked puzzled. "The graveyard? Sure, it's here…" She pulled out a folded map and circled a large grey area. "Here. And we're here…" She indicated the motel.

Ryou didn't wait around. He snatched the map from her. "Thank you!" he called over his shoulder, running for the door.

All he could do now was run by the light of the street lamps. Run, hope and pray. What could he possibly do? Even if Yami was still alive…

He shook his head. It didn't matter; all that mattered now was finding Yami.

_Because I love him?_ he wondered. Did he want to tell Yami how he felt before he died?

Even that was still irrelevant. Ryou kept running, ignoring the growing, splitting pain in his rib.

He was getting closer. He passed a road sign pointing to a cemetery. _Please, let this be the place._

A strange calm fell upon Ryou as he ran through the night. Whatever happened now was going to happen; if he found Yami – the only person Ryou Bakura had ever really loved – dead, and the rest of the gang were still there, they would need the devil himself on their side to run fast enough to escape Ryou's wrath. If Yami was still alive, then Ryou would be there with him and they would die together. If Yami wasn't there…then he was too late.

And then, out of the darkness, Ryou recognised Yugi's car.

Ryou ground to a halt. He was right; this was the place.

Suddenly, Ryou was afraid. He was terrified. What was he going to see? Hesitantly, he kept going at a slower pace.

The gate leading into the cemetery was now within sight. Ryou slowed to a walk. He didn't want to; time was just too precious. But he couldn't make his legs move faster.

"Y- Yami?" he called, his throat dry.

"Ryou…"

Ryou froze.

Standing under one of the street lamps against the fence surrounding the cemetery, was Yami.

He looked a mess; blood dripped down one of his bare arms from a deep gash just below his shoulder, a fresh bruise darkened one side of his face, his hair was filthy as though he had been thrown into the mud and blood was pooling under his left foot where a rip in his pants showed a knife had been sliced at his calf.

"They won't bother us again."

Ryou's lip trembled. "Yami…you're alive."

The shadows across Yami's face cast by the lamp would have made anybody else look terrifying. If it did Yami, Ryou either didn't notice or didn't care. He didn't wait. He ran forward and threw his arms around Yami, sobbing into his chest. "I thought you'd died," he cried.

Yami returned Ryou's embrace. "Shh," he whispered softly into Ryou's ear. "Never."

Ryou lost his perception of time. He knew that they must have stayed like that for a long time, Ryou crying and Yami gently hushing him. But however long it had been, it could never be long enough.

Eventually, Ryou managed to hold in his tears long enough to speak. "I- um…I…" He tried to pull away. "Sorry."

Yami didn't let him go; he tightened his grip around Ryou.

Ryou couldn't breathe; he had suddenly forgotten how to.

"You don't need to be sorry," Yami whispered. "I'm the one who should be sorry."

Ryou acted out of instinct. "N- no you don't! It's not your fault that-"

Yami pressed a finger gently against Ryou's lips, silencing him. Ryou didn't try to speak again.

Yami was looking at Ryou square in the eyes. Ryou couldn't have looked away if he had wanted to.

"Ryou." He hesitated before going on. "While you were fixing the car, Yugi and I had a talk. And he understands."

Ryou blinked. "Yami, I know that you did this to protect Yugi, but I just wanted to say that-"

Yami silenced him again. "Ryou…oh, Ryou." His hand crept up and cupped one of Ryou's cheeks. "I was trying to protect _you_."

Ryou's heart was going haywire. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't even think.

Yami kept talking. "You have to understand…I am a man of my word, and if…if I make a promise to somebody, I have to keep that promise, no matter how much it hurts me."

Yami looked away. "When I first met Yugi, I made a promise to him…that I would stay with him no matter what." He closed his eyes, sighing. "And I meant it, too. But then…"

He looked at Ryou again. "But then I met you. And…everything changed for me. I can't explain it." He gave a dry laugh. "When my phone rang, I thought it was Yugi…of course I did. And when I answered it and heard your voice for the first time, I hated you for not being him. But then, I met you in person." He closed his eyes briefly and opened them again. "I told you once, didn't I? When I met Yugi I felt like I wanted to stay with him in that general store forever. But Ryou...when I met you, when you sat there at that table and drank a glass of milk through a strawberry flavoured straw, all I wanted to do was run. Run, and see the world, and go everywhere...with you right there beside me."

A single tear rolled down Ryou's cheek. It didn't make sense; how could he possibly be crying?

Yami stared ahead for a moment, considering his next words. "Yugi was still missing...and I still loved him – no matter what else happened, there would always be a place for him in my heart. I knew I was never going to stop searching for him until I found him, but until you came along, I had never had hesitations about what would happen when I did. I just...I don't know."

Ryou tried to speak. He really did. But somehow, his vocal cords had abandoned him with nothing more than a 'back in ten minutes' sign.

The arm around Ryou's waist tightened. "Those next two weeks...I hardly ever saw you, I'll be the first to admit. When I look back on it now, I realise I was trying to distract myself. It had stopped being about finding Yugi; it was all about stopping myself from falling in love with you."

He tore his gaze from Ryou and stared past him. "And it...failed." He laughed. "Miserably."

He sighed. "I don't know how I managed to...control it as long as I did. But when you were on that couch doubled over in pain..." His other hand wrapped around Ryou's waist as well. "I wanted to hold you forever. Stopping myself was just too much." He sighed again.

"You said that I reminded you of Yugi," Ryou mumbled. He wanted to bit his tongue off; was that really all he could think of to say?

Yami laughed. "Ryou...Yugi has spiky hair, he likes chocolate, he can't stand sport, he spends his free time playing games, he doesn't know the first thing about cars and his favourite books are science fiction. I could go on." Yami grasped both of Ryou's hands and held them, staring into his warm brown eyes. "It was your name I said that time, wasn't it? You're nothing like Yugi."

Ryou sniffled, more tears escaping his eyes. "Yami, I-"

"Let me finish, Ryou," Yami said hastily. "Listen to me. Hear me out." He waited for a second and went on. "Yugi's call brought me back to reality; I had already promised never to leave him, and I still had to find him. And then, miraculously, I did.

"I could have moved on. I really could...somehow. If I had never seen you again, I could have stayed with Yugi knowing that you were safe from...my life. But then I found out that you were still in danger." His jaw tightened. "I wish I could forget how I felt when I realised that. It was...the most hideous feeling I had ever experienced in my life. And when I burst into the apartment after you..." A look of amusement crossed his face. "There you were, stumbling in a daze across the living room. There was a man standing ten feet away pointing a tranq gun at you and you didn't even see him."

Ryou blushed.

"It wasn't funny at the time. And when I saw you get shot-" His breath caught. "I didn't know what he had shot you with. I thought..." He didn't finish.

"When I saw that you were still breathing, I almost fainted with relief. I really did. But even though he had gone, I knew I couldn't have left you there. You weren't safe." He chuckled. "At least, that's the excuse I used on myself to be able to take you with me."

"Yami..."

"And then I had both you and Yugi together. That was...awkward, to say the least. I couldn't bear it. I had never felt so torn in half; I was bound by my promise, and I wanted to be with you.

"I thought that it would be easier to forget you if you thought I didn't care. I lied to you about why I kissed you. I told you I would have chosen Yugi. Anything, just to make it easier for me to forget you.

"Of course, Yugi was there. You don't know Yugi, Ryou...he sees _everything_. It's what makes him so good at games. And he saw right through me; he knew how I felt as soon as he saw my carrying you to the car."

Yami closed his eyes. "I couldn't have hurt him by breaking the promise I made; it wasn't my promise to break. It was his. But to Yugi, the fact that I _would_ have kept it was enough for him. So when you went off to fix the car this afternoon, he finally got to talk to me properly."

One of Yami's hands started combing through Ryou's hair. "He told me that he didn't want to hold me back from happiness. He..." Yami smiled. "Released me from my vow, so to speak. He said that...you could make me happier more than he ever could and he and I both knew it."

Yami gulped. "So then there was only one thing left to do, and that was to face the gang. And now I've done that...I'm free."

Of all the words in his vocabulary, Ryou could find none to say aloud.

"I think that's everything," Yami said quietly.

"Everything?" Ryou whispered.

"No. There's more," Yami said suddenly.

Ryou blinked. "What?"

"Ryou Bakura, I love you." Without hesitating, Yami cupped Ryou's face in both hands and kissed him.

It was as though a bold of electricity had seared through Ryou's nerves, paralysing him for a second and shocking him to his very core. Then it released its hold on Ryou, and he closed his eyes, returning Yami's kiss with all the passion and love that had built up in his heart since Yami had first stepped through his door. "I love you too, Yami."

* * *

><p>SCREW THE WORD, I AM HUMAN~!<p>

That's all I was thinking when Ryou was yelling at Yugi. Oh god, I wanted to put that sooo badly ;D

I used Wiki Answers to find out where gangs hang out. A graveyard seemed as good a place as any.

Plot holes~! It was the gang who trashed Ryou and Yami's apartment, in case you didn't guess :D I realise that it is heave implied that Yami actually kills the gang members in this chapter O.o that wasn't really my intention, but I'll leave that one open so you can decide on what happened ;D He might have killed them or beat them senseless or whatever :/ (That is IA speech for 'I hadn't actually decided and couldn't be bothered thinking it over') And, I know how much it looked like Yami was going to have been secretly listening in on Ryou talking to himself in bed, but...he wasn't XD I just threw that in to make you guys want to hug Ryou~! Basically it was filler- erm...it was me trying to lengthen this final chapter and make it more worthwhile. Yes. Um...I can't think of the rest of the plot holes. Please ask me if I've missed one!

Okay, with that out of the way, let me say this with all the sincerity I can muster:

I. Love. You.

I would like to thank all of you for reading this story to its very conclusion I really, _really_, _**really**_ hope you liked reading it as much as I did writing it~! This is my first completed multi chapter story, too ^^

Can I say a very special thank you to everybody who reviewed so diligently: RiverTear980, MewMewRadish, AnzuFan, Aquabless, Coolaloo, Calm Envy and Saffire Blade, to name a few ~.~ And a special thanks so everybody who alert listed and favourited this story as well – I won't list you here, but I know who you all are *whimper of happiness* If I had a soul, I'd give it to you. I could seriously marry all you guys because I love you so much. But, you know, monogamy, not to mention the fact that I'm pretty sure most of you are girls. Maybe next time XD

I had a lot of fun writing this story~! I am SO sad it's finally over :'( But~! Never fear :D for those of you who want more of YamixRyou, I'm planning to do a little drabble series for them ^^ Kind of like a plotless sequel~! I've written a few drabbles already, but I won't be publishing them for a while~ It'll appear on my profile eventually, so if you're interested, please read it when it comes out *glomp*

I'd love to hear what you thought about the end of the story~ leave a review and let me know~! Thank yooooou *huggles* If you do, I shall give you any Yu-Gi-Oh character you want to be your personal slave. Just don't pick Mokuba; he's mine.

Mokuba: But I'm twelve years old!

Me: Silence when you speak to me~!

Mokuba: ...You're kind of creepy.

Me: Yes. Yes, I am.

Anyway~ I really can't thank you enough, so I'll let my parting comment be one of my favourite words of all time, appropriate for quite literally all circumstances and situations:

Huzzah~!

~IA

* * *

><p>P.S. I love you ;D<p> 


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